Many Israelis have spent the past few weeks overseas, but the summer vacations and holidays are about to end, and soon the high demand for Hanukkah holidays and Christmas markets in Europe will begin. But we will probably have to pay more for our vacations.
Now it's official: U.S. visa waiver as early as November. Credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The dollar exchange rate, the currency in which we buy hotels and flights, strengthened significantly today and reached a seven-year high, and is now trading at NIS 3.87. This is an increase of tens of percent in recent months.
The same significant increase will cause the cost of our vacations to increase by hundreds and in some cases by thousands of shekels (depending on the price of the vacation). The increase in the dollar exchange rate comes against the background of the US visa exemption, with many Israelis interested in flying to the country after many years of waiting to enter the list of countries exempt from US visas.
Vacation in the US has become more expensive. New York, Photo: GettyImages
In parallel with the increase in the dollar exchange rate, prices in the US, mainly in New York and Miami, have risen very significantly in recent years. The increase in prices is reflected in the prices of fuel, restaurants, groceries in supermarkets, hotels and many other expenses.
This means that a vacation in the US, which until before the coronavirus, when the dollar was still low and prices at the destination were tens of percent lower, became very expensive.
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