Much to the astonishment of some of my friends and family, I traveled to Israel on a seven-night press trip, returning home on April 8, less than a week before Iran launched its attack on the country.
Would I go back again in light of that attack? In a heartbeat.
Would I recommend that others follow suit? That is a decision that must be made by each individual traveler.
What I can say to you is that the trip, which was my first visit to Israel, was a transformative experience. For the purposes of this column, I＊m focusing on the experience of being in Israel six months after Hamas attacked on Oct. 7. To learn more about the destination itself, look for my story in the July issue of AGENTatHOME.
What made the trip a transformative one? It was the comfort level I felt with Israelis 每 many speak fluent English, and there are also a considerable number of Americans who call the country home 每 combined with the exotic nature of the destination itself.
Claudette Covey in Jerusalem. (Source: Claudette Covey)
One small but stalwart group traveling to Israel is American Jews, many of whom are visiting as a way in which to show their solidarity with the country.
A honeymoon couple whom I met in Jerusalem, Joshua and Hannah Abraham from Austin, Texas, were first-time visitors and on their honeymoon.
※We just wanted to come and visit the land of Israel§ Joshua Abraham said. ※We had planned to come here before Oct. 7, and, after Oct. 7, we were a little bit worried, but we didn＊t want that to stop us from celebrating our honeymoon and showing our support to the country of Israel.§
The couple, who were spending a week exploring Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, said they, like me, were having a transformative travel experience and planned at some point to return with their two-year-old daughter.
※We haven＊t felt any kind of threat to our safety or anything like that,§ said Joshua Abraham. ※It＊s an amazing feeling to be in a country where you＊re not a minority.§
The press trip, which was sponsored by the Israel Ministry of Tourism, began and ended in Tel Aviv and explored Jerusalem, Caesarea, Haifa and the Dead Sea.
Our group, which included four journalists, a representative of the Israel Ministry of Tourism and a guide, was greeted with enthusiasm by Israelis everywhere we went?每 be it in restaurants, hotels or tourism attractions. They seemed genuinely happy to see U.S. visitors again.
These days, the country＊s hotels are primarily garnering business from domestic travel in the form of Israelis looking for a respite from the war. They also are housing people who have been dislocated by the war 每 as evidenced during a visit to the Dead Sea.
Although it＊s impossible to predict when visitors will begin to return in any substantive way, tourism officials remain hopeful that the day will come in the not-too-distant future when tourism will return to healthier levels.
※I think the majority of the trade is not yet selling Israel, but they are planning to sell Israel,§ said Pini Shani, deputy director of the Israel Ministry of Tourism, during an interview at the International Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM) expo, which was held on April 3-4 in Tel Aviv.
※There are not many bookings yet for 2025,§ he said. ※When things calm down, people will come back like they did at the end of COVID.§
I hope he＊s right.
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