Open sky reform, coupled with the strengthening of the shekel, has led to a fall in prices in the tourism market • Vacation package prices have dropped by a quarter • New York has been the most popular destination for outbound flights from Israel, Barcelona in second place

• Travelers waiting at Ben Gurion Airport // Photo: Yehoshua Yosef

In the last decade there has been a revolution in the tourism industry in Israel: open sky reform has begun, prices have dropped, also thanks to the strengthening of the shekel, slow-cost companies have started to operate on many lines and a variety of new destinations have been opened. Our consumption habits have also shifted mainly to the network, which has resulted in the growth of price comparison sites.

The data from the TravelList website shows that from 2014-2010 New York was the most popular destination for outbound flights from Israel, and the average cost per flight was $ 1,500. The second most sought-after destination was Barcelona with an average price of $ 520.

In 2015, the second stage of the Open Sky Agreement was reversed, and approximately 50 foreign airlines and three Israeli airlines began operating regular passenger flights to and from Israel. There was a significant 25% drop in the average cost per flight, which was $ 499 that year. Further prices have dropped to an average of $ 420 today. Thus, prices have completed a 40% decline in the average cost per flight over the past decade. In 2010, the mix of flights between flights and packages was 59% flights compared to 41% vacation packages. In contrast, in 2019 the mix of bookings was 74% flights compared to only 26% for vacation packages.

The average price of a package for Crete in 2010 was $ 786, up from $ 576 in 2019 - a 27% decline over the decade, a decline that represents many of the destinations.