Foreign Credit Card Spending Masks Tourism Slump in Israel

By מערכת ice

Translated & summarized from Ice by baba

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Hebrew · 4 newsrooms covering

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Foreign credit card spending in Israel has seen only a minor decrease, masking a severe 78% drop in tourist arrivals. The spending is driven by new immigrants, diplomats, and aid, not traditional tourism, which is suffering significant losses.

The story in 5 lines · by baba

Foreign credit card spending in Israel dropped only 8% in H1 2024.
Tourist arrivals to Israel fell by a sharp 78% in the same period.
Spending is inflated by immigrants, diplomats, journalists, and foreign aid.
Traditional tourism sectors like hotels and restaurants lost over 40% revenue.
The Israeli tourism industry is far from recovering without visitor return.

Despite a seemingly minor 8% drop in foreign credit card spending in the first half of the year compared to pre-war 2023, amounting to approximately 9.7 billion shekels, the reality on the ground reveals a drastic 78% decrease in tourist arrivals to Israel. This significant discrepancy, as reported by "Calcalist," is attributed to a shift in who is using foreign cards and where transactions are originating.

The inflated spending figures are not indicative of a tourism recovery but rather reflect increased usage by new immigrants from Western countries, diplomats, journalists, and financial aid and donations from overseas Jewish organizations purchasing equipment for affected communities. These factors are artificially boosting credit card turnover.

In contrast, traditional tourism sectors are suffering severe blows. Hotels, restaurants, car rental companies, and duty-free shops have experienced revenue declines exceeding 40%. The overall financial data, therefore, obscures the severe distress within the industry.

Without the return of millions of visitors, the Israeli tourism industry remains far from recovery, with classic tourism sectors bearing the brunt of the economic downturn.

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