• Tourism

• news

Israblof outline: This is what happens to a tourist who wants to enter the country

Israel "opened" to tourists this week, but does everything so that they do not come: ambiguity about documents to be presented, emails received in Hebrew, police officers who check tourists and do not know English and a European vaccine that is accepted in the world, but with us expires in December.

"The outline is to shut up tourists," the industry says

Tags

• tourists

• Corona

Ziv Reinstein

Thursday, 04 November 2021, 07:02 Updated: 07:03

• Share on Facebook

• Share on WhatsApp

• Share on general

• Share on general

• Share on Twitter

• Share on Email

0 comments

Tourists in Masada, November 1, 2021 (Photo: Tawfiq Givoa, RTG)

Many of the tourists who come to Israel over the years are interested in going on the Via Dolorosa ("Way of Torture") in Jerusalem where their Lord Jesus went about 2000 years ago. They did not expect that with the opening of Israel to tourism, it would start even before boarding the plane.

Three days ago (November 1, 2021) tourists started arriving in the country, after more than a year and a half of drought. The world has long done this, every country and its regulation, but understand that the corona is here to stay and everyone has to live with it one way or another. But with us? Only burden the tourists with difficulties.

The process of arriving in Israel for a tourist today is so difficult that even before someone has decided to come here - then the Israeli bureaucracy takes the urge out of it. We will start by saying that the link to the entry form on the website of the Ministry of Health, which does appear in English, leads to the form in Hebrew without it being written ENGLISH somewhere to change language. Beyond that, a PCR test that needs to be done 72 hours before arriving in the country and must be entered on the entry form (what will the elderly and technologically challenged do?) To get a "green mark" which is a condition for boarding the plane. Upon landing, further inspection and then 24-hour isolation until a result is obtained, and we have already heard that some hotels are not willing to accommodate tourists for the first hours until a negative answer is received.

Organized tourist groups that come to Israel, and are currently the bulk of the tourism that has arrived in the last two days, have almost no bureaucracy since the group leader or the Israeli escort takes care of everything.

But what about the individual tourists?

Those who come to "City Break" on the lowcost?

A family coming for a bar mitzvah trip in Israel?

Or a couple who came for a Christmas vacation?

In individual cases, matters are much more complicated to almost impossible.

More on Walla!

The conditions that will return the tourists to the country have been revealed, and it seems impossible

To the full article

More on Walla!

• From next month: Immunized foreign tourists will be able to return and vacation in Israel

• Israel in the face of the Austrian case: this is how we lose tourists

• The "black" year of hotels: a 82% decrease in tourist overnight stays compared to 2019

• Heart attack: how to prevent and what to do in case he still appears

The bureaucracy is very difficult.

Tourism that arrived in Israel this week (Photo: Momentum)

"What do you want us to do, to learn Hebrew?"

"The biggest problem is what documents need to be presented at the entrance or exit, since the regulation in Israel is constantly changing," says Walla! Everard Mumern Tourism, a Dutch tourist and owner of a travel agency that brings Dutch people to the country, took off yesterday back to his country. "People would rather stay within the EU and vacation on the continent, than fly here because of the difficulty in finding information available in English," he adds. "There are no newsletters or information when coming to Israel and independent tourists have to fend for themselves and look for everything. For example, where do PCR tests when leaving the country, what is the price and other information." I checked many Israeli sites, including the Ministry of Health website, but the information is not clear enough. Some in English and some in Hebrew. What do you want us to do? Shall we learn Hebrew? "

"Scott Harn from Georgia, USA, arrived in Israel on Tuesday with some pilgrims and told about the difficulties in topology entering the country." he says. "when we landed, we went to the hotel to get results and we ate breakfast and dinner in the rooms."

the gap between the information that Hebrew regarding the conduct of sources, that there are other languages - is great. for example, did anyone bother to update the tourists how to search for information on checking Corona When leaving Israel? Do they know that the price today is more than double? Do they know that it is possible to check in the "B Pharm" chains or Super Pharm at a discounted price? Absolutely not. .

Another problem for tourists who desperately want to get here is the issue of vaccines, which will soon expire. The Ministry of Health requires that tourists be able to enter here only if they are vaccinated at least twice in the range of 180-14 days. Those who have been vaccinated with a booster will be able to enter after 14 days from the day of vaccination. Recoverers will need to undergo a NAAT test before entering the country and present a recovery certificate from Corona. Most Europeans, and half a billion people, have received their second vaccine this summer, and will soon expire. That is, they have only a few weeks left to hike. The problem will be towards Christmas - the most important and sought-after date for tourists a year - and just then the vaccine will expire - which means that Israel will lose tens of thousands of tourists.

"An outline will soon be published for the entry of tourists in groups vaccinated with a second vaccine, which has been more than six months since it was given, which will ease the conditions of entry into the country. All in accordance with Ministry of Health guidelines.

"Europeans are very slow and do not decide from moment to moment," says Edward.

"The trip to Israel needs to be planned and no one will have a booster before 2022," he adds.

"I think Israel should respect the vaccine of other countries like Europe and the US, and if there is an agreement between the countries they should get the vaccine mutually.

This will be one of the obstacles to bringing tourists to Israel. "

Rashid Abu Hanna from Nazareth, a travel agent from

"

Rashid Tours "who has been bringing pilgrims to Israel for 30 years, also points to the same problem. No country in the world stores under the age of 65. This whole outline is a bluff.

Everything remains the same as before and it is almost impossible to enter the country.

"Yesterday I was canceled a team from the US" because some of them are not able to get a third booster ".

More on Walla!

We are back to the nineties: only 2 million tourists will arrive in the country in 2021, which is why

To the full article

Travel agents became "Corona Cops".

Tourists who arrived in Masada this week (Photo: Nature and Parks Authority, Tawfiq Givoa)

"Should I force tourists to put a pen in their nose?"

According to Yossi Fischer, a tourism and aviation expert, the tourist entry plan is intended not to pay tourists money. "They did not really open the skies," he says, "it is an outline of Israblof to shut the mouths of tourists. Christmas holiday begins soon (from December 20 to January 4), the whole Western world is on vacation and people want to come to Israel for a vacation with children because it A family holiday, but can not because children are not vaccinated in Europe under the age of 16. "

According to him, everything is done in order to make it difficult, not to make it easier. "In groups, travel agents have become 'cops' - making sure that every three days their tourists do a PCR or antigen," he explains. "And who will pass the results or verify them, what happens if someone is verified as positive? Who will pay the expenses of the hotel or his booked flight? Everything is rolled over to the tourist and the travel agent. It is enough to have one verified in the group - the whole group in trouble."

Abu Hanna is also surprised by the Ministry of Health's handling of the corona tests.

"Should I, as a travel agent, be in charge of an antigen test every morning for my groups? About PCR tests every three days? Do I have to force tourists to put a pen in their nose? Who am I? Do you know how many hours it takes to scan office forms?"

More on Walla!

Israel will learn: The most vaccinated country in the world does not allow tourists

To the full article

Should travel agents push a daily marker for tourists who come here?

(Photo: ShutterStock, Shutterstock)

Travel agencies around the world direct tourists to our neighbors

Tourists in the country claim that there is no fit between the outline of tourist entry that began this week, and the actual systems used by tourists. For example, log in to the Ministry of Health system, enter the details and scan the tests. "There are all kinds of bugs, like information in the Hebrew language that suddenly appears," says Yuval Amiel, director general of the Amiel Tours travel agency. From isolation, but get it only a few days later, instead of within 24 hours. In other words, decisions are made, but the systems are not prepared to implement them properly. "

Oni Amiel, chairman of Amiel Tours, says that his tourists, who went through the whole process of entering the country, received calls from the police to check why they were not in isolation, after they had already received a negative test result, "and they spoke to them in Hebrew. them, "he says." the system failed to update each other and we do not look good - disorganized, unclear - and combine harvester developed here at horrible. "

Oni explains, tourists would take a minimum of two to three months to organize a holiday, "Unlike the Israelis who do it relatively quickly." The delays in the layout and the ambiguity that began in the summer have caused disappointment and resentment from Israel, "he says.

.

"The systems are not sugar-free, and we are losing tourists." .

"World travel agencies refer their tourists to neighboring countries, such as Egypt and Jordan, because they know it is difficult to enter Israel and the process is terrible. And what's absurd? That Israelis return from all these countries in Europe, so why do tourists make life difficult? "December and January, and if they do not make a decision and make things clearer, then we will also lose 2022."

"Everything here is cumbersome and messy."

Oni and Yuval Amiel (Photo: Studio A)

The mainland entrance to Israel is closed to tourists

Abu Hanna also refers to the large differences between the entry of tourists to Israel and Europe. "The tourists who want to come to Israel do not understand why in Europe they do not ask for all the things they ask for here," he says. By this he also means the land crossings to the country that are closed to foreigners. Did you know that tourists can not currently enter the country through the Taba or Arava crossing? "That I have to fly from Jordan to Ben Gurion Airport to enter the country?"

stated: "Currently, the opening of borders to foreigners is being done gradually. At this stage, only Ben Gurion Airport is being opened. They will constantly examine the move and decide on the next steps. "

Edward also says that it is very difficult for independent tourists to know what will happen to them, if they are found positive for Corona in the country.

"This is the first question I am asked," he says.

"They want to know where they will be referred? Hotel? Hospital? Will they be held forever? There is no list of hotels or places to treat Corona in English."

These days Israel should already be pretty full of tourists ahead of the impending Christmas.

Orders should have already flowed to the hotels in Nazareth, Jerusalem and the Galilee.

But the situation is just the opposite.

"You do not feel anything about Christmas in the city," says Abu Hanna. "Nazareth is almost empty and the future does not bode well. It is going to be a very sad Christmas this year."

A tourist in Petra.

Travel agencies around the world give up on Israel (Photo: ShutterStock, Shutterstock)

Ministry of Health: "Tourists whose immunization expires will be able to enter in the group outline"

The Ministry of Health, the Corona virus' information headquarters

, stated: "In accordance with the regulations restricting the activity of a public or business place, a hotel guest can be received with a negative PCR performance outside Israel during the 72 hours prior to his reception, so After landing.

"The tourist is required to stay in isolation in his room until a negative result is obtained in the PCR test he performed at the border station upon entering the country or up to 24 hours, whichever is earlier than required for any person entering Israel. The Ministry of Health wants to encourage the entry of tourists, but not at the expense of maintaining the health of the citizens of the State of Israel. "But what about the lone

tourist

?

A tourist who is verified during his stay in Israel will be referred by a qualified person to a recovery hotel where he will stay for the entire recovery / isolation period. But why is there no list of Corona melons?" in English?

The Ministry of Health website is available in four languages: Hebrew, English, Russian and Arabic.

• Share on Facebook

• Share on WhatsApp

• Share on general

• Share on general

• Share on Twitter

• Share on Email

0 comments