Tourism Ministry launches new stand-alone site dedicated to providing tourists with all the COVID information they need to know

Israel’s Ministry of Tourism launched a new stand-alone page on its website this week following the government’s approval to re-open Israel’s skies to incoming tourists who are vaccinated and/or have recovered from COVID-19.

The landing page, israelsafe, is the Tourism Ministry’s go-to COVID information guide for incoming visitors and contains all the necessary requirements and coronavirus guidelines set by the Israeli government.

The guide is divided into three sections with easy access to all the relevant COVID information prior to landing in Israel, when they are in Israel and just before they depart from Israel. The guide will be updated on a regular basis, in accordance with any changes to COVID policies and regulations. The site is only available in English for now, but will soon be translated into other languages, the ministry said.

Despite the Omicron variant raging across the country, the Israeli government decided last week to remove all countries from its “red” list beginning Sunday, allowing Israelis to travel once again anywhere in the world and allowing foreign tourists who are fully vaccinated or recovered from the coronavirus to enter Israel.

Since the government’s decision last week to open Israel’s borders, the Ministry of Health has registered a record-high number of new COVID cases, resulting in long lines at COVID testing centers and sending thousands of Israeli adults and children into quarantine.

The COVID pandemic decimated Israel’s tourism industry when the borders closed to all incoming tourists in March 2020. Prior to the onset of the coronavirus, Israel's tourism sector had enjoyed a period of increasing growth, with 4.55 million tourists visiting the Jewish state in 2019 alone ­– representing an 11% increase over the previous year and a revenue of nearly $7.4 billion (23 billion shekels). 

However, Israel saw a comparatively low number of tourists in 2020 – just 832,500 visitors, and a mere 401,500 in 2021 (representing revenue of approximately $640,000 or 2 billion shekels).

The Ministry of Tourism in Israel has continued to operate throughout the pandemic via its representative offices around the world, promoting Israel as a safe and attractive destination. In addition, the Tourism Ministry has made significant investments in maintaining and upgrading tourism infrastructure throughout the country, including its popular historical, religious and cultural tourist sites.

Here is the page for those interested in booking a trip: israelsafe