The Incoming Israel Tourism Tsunami. This year in Jerusalem!

It is finally happening!  After plague and war, the Israel tourism train is getting back on track! I can remove my Kevlar battle helmet, which I have been wearing these past fifteen months in my reserve IDF combat medical extraction unit, and finally dust out my tour-guiding hat. The good times are set to roll again.

Israel is expecting a bumper summer of tourism. We will be hosting the Maccabiah summer games, the third largest sporting event on the globe. All of the national parks, from the north to the south, are once again open. Hotels have spent the war refurbishing and tour companies report phones once again ringing. Tourists, who have been keeping their distance because of the war, have been itching to return to this fascinating, stunning, historically rich, and religiously significant land.

It is interesting to note, as Yossi Klein Halevi, Donniel Hartman, and other commentators observed, Israel is now safer post-war than it was on October 6, 2023. This is due to many factors. Syria has imploded, and both the Hamas and Hizballah have been neutered, thanks to the tenacious and heroic efforts of the IDF.

Tourism will of course have a different feel to it. The narrative of the history of this land has been forever altered by both the tragic events of the October 7 attacks, and the heroic response and ensuing national unity.

Local Israelis have been using the “quite period” to upgrade many sites, from the state-of-the-art renewed Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem, which uses interactive hi-tech to showcase the archaeological richness of Jerusalem, the connection of the three monotheistic faiths to this city, and of course sensational view of both the old and new sections of our capital, to the stunning ANU museum in Tel Aviv emphasising the richness and diversity of the Jewish people, culture and history. There are many other sites and museums that have invested serious thought and financial investment in preparing for the “day after” the war, which has finally arrived.

One of the huge draws for Israel is its stunning diversity of natural sites, from the northern most coral reef in the world down in Eilat to the snow-capped Hermon in the north. The National Parks Authority has been assiduously renewing and upgrading many of its stunning natural parks.

As more and more airlines finally begin to resume their flights to this special land, now is the time to book your holiday, mission, conference, bar/bat-mitzva trip etc.  This is not just another place for Jews to observe “his story” or “her story,” this land encapsulates “our story,” the hope of two thousand years to be a free people in our land.

Let us celebrate the uniqueness of the miraculous times we live in where, once again, we are in charge of our own destiny and after almost two thousand years in the darkness of exile we have built a land flowing with milk and honey, hi-tech, and super tourist sites and infrastructure. Carp diem!

One cannot replace an experience! NOW is the time to come and share with our Israeli brothers and sisters the glory of our land and people. We have been through so much suffering, now is the time to celebrate. As the Book of Psalms (126:5) so eloquently states, “those who have sown in tears will reap in joy.” We look forward to welcoming you home!

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Tuvia is a licensed Ministry of Tourism national guide who has spent the last fifteen months in the IDF reserves on the Gaza front and is enthusiastically preparing to welcome you back to Israel. His website is www.booktuvia.com.