Israel tourism tips

Multinational investment bank UBS has told its staff not to go on any work-related trips to the Middle East. The company has also hit the brakes on an event it was supposed to host in Qatar later this month, according to an internal memo that was seen by Bloomberg and confirmed by a UBS spokesman.

Israel’s Tourism Minister Haim Katz has appealed for travellers to visit Israel again. Travellers were safe in the country, he said in front of the press on Tuesday at ITB Berlin. He would be urging the German government to drop the travel warnings for Israel issued by the German Foreign Office.

Major conflicts in recent years, most notably in Israel and Ukraine, have significantly impacted travel worldwide, another hurdle for the industry in its quest to make a complete recovery from the pandemic.

Israel’s tourism ministry is working to assist travelers seeking to depart the country amid its ongoing war with Hamas. The country is in a state of emergency.

Tel Aviv-headquartered Brown Hotels saw evacuees and stranded travelers pour into many of its rooms at its 24 hotels in Israel in the aftermath of brutal attacks on Saturday.

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.