Israeli Departures Exceed Pre-War Levels in August

In August, approximately 1.4 million Israelis traveled abroad, marking the first time since before the war that outbound travel has surpassed pre-conflict figures. Of these, about 1.2 million used air travel, 190,000 traveled by land, and 12,000 by sea. This surge in departures means that air travel numbers have now exceeded those of August 2023, when 1.34 million Israelis traveled abroad, including 1.14 million by air. Land travel numbers in August also surpassed the previous year, contributing to the overall increase.

Cumulatively, from January to August, around 6.07 million Israelis have traveled abroad, a slight increase compared to 6.06 million during the same period last year. In July, outbound travel was already approaching pre-war levels, with 1.3 million departures, 1.15 million of which were by air.

In contrast, inbound tourism remains significantly below pre-war levels. August saw 117,600 visitor arrivals in Israel, including 115,900 tourists and 1,700 day visitors. This is a sharp decline from August 2023, which recorded 311,200 visitor arrivals, comprising 284,200 tourists and 27,000 day visitors.

From January to August of this year, Israel recorded 668,200 visitor arrivals, down from 827,500 in the corresponding period last year. The primary sources of visitors in August were the United States (34.9%), France (13.1%), the United Kingdom (7.9%), and Russia (4.8%).

The aviation sector experienced a notable disruption in August, with Ben Gurion Airport completely shut down for several hours on August 20th.