Israel Sees Record August Travel Amid Fuel Price Cuts

Israel experienced a record number of departures in August, with approximately 1.4 million people leaving the country. This figure surpasses even pre-pandemic summer highs, exceeding August 2019's 1.24 million departures by about 170,000. The surge in travel occurred despite ongoing aviation challenges since the war began and the absence of several foreign airlines. Around 86% of departures, totaling roughly 1.2 million travelers, were by air, primarily through Ben Gurion Airport, with a smaller contribution from Haifa Airport. Land crossings saw approximately 192,000 departures, with Taba crossing to Egypt accounting for the largest portion (87,000), alongside crossings to Jordan. Sea travel accounted for about 11,000 departures.

In parallel, a new fuel price reduction took effect at the beginning of the week. The maximum price for a liter of 95-octane gasoline at self-service stations was set at 7.75 shekels, a decrease of about half a shekel from the previous rate. At full-service stations, the price dropped to 7.57 shekels per liter. This reduction followed Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's decision to lower the excise tax by approximately 42 agorot per liter. The tax cut, combined with a reduction in value-added tax, resulted in a total decrease of about 50 agorot per liter.

This fuel tax reduction is projected to cost the state treasury an estimated 360 million shekels over the next two months. Each agorot reduction in excise tax represents an annual loss of about 44 million shekels to state revenues. Analysts view this move as a political maneuver, potentially the first in a series of "election sales" ahead of upcoming elections, aimed at boosting Smotrich's party's popularity and ensuring they pass the electoral threshold.