As the war between Hamas and Israel intensifies in the Middle East, tensions are spilling over into Europe, where demonstrations and terrorist attacks are causing disruptions for locals and visitors alike.
09.10.2023 - 11:05 / skift.com
Just a few weeks ago, tourism was said to be the olive branch that was going to improve relations between Israel and the rest of the Middle East. Saturday’s surprise Hamas attack on the country has a confirmed death toll of more than 1,000 so far, completely halting its tourism sector, and further delaying any hopes of stability in the area.
“Citizens of Israel, we are at war — not in an operation, not in rounds — at war,” Israeli Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu broadcasted following the Hamas group’s attack on parts of Israel, including the capital and tourist hot spot Tel Aviv. In the south of the country, Hamas stormed and opened fire on a festival where there were more than 3,000 people.
More than 260 bodies have reportedly been recovered from the festival site, according to rescue agency Zaka, reported the BBC. Others have been taken hostage.
International tourism has responded by freezing travel to Israel and advising all its citizens to steer clear of the country.
Across the world, the industry’s largest carriers have stopped routes to Israel, while governments, such as the US, have issued a “Do Not Travel” to Gaza and “Exercise Increased Caution When Traveling To” Israel or the West Bank, due to terrorism and civil unrest.
Canada and the UK have similar travel advisories, updated for citizens over the weekend. Australia’s foreign minister gave similar warnings at a press conference held at Melbourne Airport over the weekend.
American Airlines: “(American Airlines) has temporarily suspended operations to and from Tel Aviv, Israel (TLV) and has issued a travel alert providing additional flexibility to customers whose travel plans are affected. We continue to monitor the situation with safety and security top of mind and will adjust our operation as needed. Customers should visit aa.com or use the American Airlines mobile app to check the status of their flights.”
Delta: “Delta continues to monitor the situation and is making schedule adjustments accordingly. Currently, our TLV flights have been canceled into this week. Customers impacted by canceled flights or who want to change their TLV ticket should check their Delta app, visit Delta.com or call Delta reservations to make adjustments.” On Background: Delta will work with the U.S. government as needed to assist with the repatriation of U.S. citizens who want to return home.
United: “Our Tel Aviv flights will remain suspended until conditions allow them to resume.”
Air Canada: “We are monitoring this dynamic situation closely and we will adjust these plans as required. We remain in contact with the Canadian government. Air Canada will resume operations to Tel Aviv as soon as the situation stabilizes.”
Lufthansa, SWISS & Austrian: “Against
As the war between Hamas and Israel intensifies in the Middle East, tensions are spilling over into Europe, where demonstrations and terrorist attacks are causing disruptions for locals and visitors alike.
A Palestinian delegation was at ITB Asia tourism trade show in Singapore, despite the war and humanitarian crisis at home. “Palestine is a tourism destination and a political state with a significant historical background,” said Majed Ishaq, director general of marketing for Palestinian ministry of tourism. “Come to our country through Palestinian tour operators. Spend money in Palestine and help to contribute towards our economy.”Ishaq told Skift that the ministry had previously decided to attend the trade show and didn’t want to back out. “We had already booked a space and paid for the construction of the stand, making it impossible to cancel our participation.”
WHY IT RATES: Many people in the travel and tourism industry have been impacted by Morris Silver’s expertise.—Donald Wood, Breaking News Senior Writer.
Organised by IFEMA MADRID, the 44th edition of FITUR is set to take place from 24 to 28 January 2024 at Madrid’s trade fair centre. According to FITUR’s director, María Valcarce, the outlook for the next edition is looking bright and everything points to the trade fair expanding to occupy more than 140,000 m2 of space across 9 halls, bringing together more than 9,000 companies and over 150,000 professional visitors from the world tourism industry from 145 countries. It is also estimated that around 100,000 people will visit FITUR over the weekend. Figures that already placed FITUR at the forefront of the major international tourism fairs at the last edition.
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Welcome back to another episode of the TravelPulse Podcast!
Royal Caribbean International is assisting the U.S. Embassy in Israel by helping to evacuate Americans in the wake of the ongoing war between the Middle Eastern country and Hamas.On Monday, Rhapsody of the Seas set sail from Haifa in northern Israel to Cyprus carrying U.S. citizens fleeing the country amid the turmoil."Royal Caribbean Group is actively supporting the U.S. Department of State in the assisted departure of American citizens," the cruise line said in a statement.The ship was operating on a first-come, first-served basis after canceling several itineraries last week due to the geopolitical situation."With your safety and well-being in mind, and in conjunction with our Global Security Department, we’ve decided that we must cancel our October 9, 2023, and October 13, 2023 Rhapsody of the Seas sailings," Royal Caribbean confirmed earlier this month.
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