Today (Monday) marked a holiday in the tourism industry in Israel: after about a year and a half, foreign tourists were allowed to enter Israel not in groups.
According to the outline, tourists who are vaccinated in two doses less than six months ago and those who received a booster dose alongside fresh recoverers or those who were vaccinated after recovery - are allowed to enter Israel.
While Ben Gurion Airport was ready for the arrival of tourists, some were not allowed to board flights to Israel.
In conversations with them, they tell about the reason: "We arrived on the flight and were told that we could not board the flight because we did not fill out the forms properly," says one of the tourists who wanted to come to "Israel Today."
"We tried to fill out the forms for a few days but the Ministry of Health systems did not work and we had no other choice, no backup system or anyone who could solve the problem, informed that vaccinated tourists can enter Israel, we bought plane tickets, we did everything according to procedures but "The systems in Israel collapsed a few days ago and no one took care of it, it's just a default."
The Ministry of Health did not respond to a request for comment.
Aviation industry officials clarified that this is a known matter, and that indeed there are tourists who got stuck abroad and were not allowed to come to Israel due to the fact that they did not fill out the forms properly due to a malfunction in the systems.
First group of tourists at Ben Gurion Airport, Photo: Gideon Markowitz
Along with those who were unable to reach the country, there were also quite a few tourists who managed to fill out the forms and arrive in the country.
In a conversation with Jeff Van Levinson, a couple of tourists who came from London, they tell of the exciting day: "We are very happy that we can visit Israel, it was simpler than we thought it would be. We were not here two months, we came to see our son and grandson and visit him at the officer ceremony. His in the IDF, we came to support him, we were not here for two years and we missed him very much, we came here for ten days. "
Paul Gardner, another tourist who came to Tel Aviv, says:
Israel is the start-up nation and I am here for a series of meetings on the subject. "
Welcome to Israel.
Tourists at Ben Gurion Airport, 1.11.2021, Photo: Gideon Markowitz
David Cohen, CEO of the David Intercontinental Hotel in Tel Aviv, commented on the return of tourists to Israel: “When I met the nice couple who came to their grandson’s exciting event finishing an officers course and I hear the tourists speak English, I am very excited. I sincerely hope that it really will continue and that the tourists will continue to arrive. We have prepared for the arrival of tourists many times, the hotel is ready and the staff is enthusiastic. At the beginning of the corona the place was deserted and I really would not want to see it again, it was a shock, we have not seen anything so extreme. We are already seeing orders and demands from abroad, "there are a lot of inquiries and demands from individuals and groups."
Shani Schifferman, CEO of Terminal Fattal: "We have been preparing for the arrival of the tourists for several weeks, and are adjusting the workforce. Seeing an increase in demand and feeling it especially in the last two weeks. "Everyone is excited to see invitations from many countries, it's great fun."
Ilan Ben Hakon, CEO of Herods Tel Aviv: "The return of tourists is very exciting, we have been waiting for them since March, we have made a number of adjustments, we have returned our service to business people and we are ready for them.
The last period was very challenging but we enjoyed the Israeli guests who came to us and were loyal but of course we also waited for the foreign tourists. "
Along with the excitement, there is quite a bit of criticism in the tourism industry about the route Health, which may significantly dilute the numbers of tourists who will arrive in the country in the near future.
