Iron Sword War significantly changed the tourism and aviation industries, which were immediately affected by the situation.
On the other hand, and despite the tense times, Israir announced an all-time record breaking in revenue, number of passengers and number of flights. The year 2024 is expected to be different from its predecessors in many ways. Following all this, we interviewed Uri Sirkis, CEO of Israir, to talk about the expectations, the estimates and the numbers.
Despite the war, you broke a revenue record. How did this happen?
"Despite the war, Israir will end the year at an all-time high. We entered 2023 with a positive gap of $30 million in backlog compared to the same date in 2022. We expected to maintain this gap, and perhaps increase it by the end of the year.
"We maintained that gap, and those amounts eroded during the war, but still not completely. We will still end the year on a high, in all parameters that make up the production function - passenger volumes, revenue. The number of segments, which I hope will reach one million passengers, is a goal we are close to achieving, as well as the amount of flight hours we generate thanks to our Airbus fleet."
What are the chances that we will see foreign tourists here soon?
"If we are talking about those who live abroad and enter Israel with a foreign passport in order to meet their families, then this type of tourism is not expected to be significantly affected. The classic tourists, who sleep in hotels and travel, will arrive much less in the coming year.
Israir CEO Uri Sirkis. Record year, photo: PR
"There are several reasons for this: tourism organizers abroad reduce risks and remove Israel from the tourism map, and most of them do so for economic reasons. Of course, there is also the security concern that will affect foreign tourists, and it will take time for them to return to Israel. We expect an impact of about a million and a half segments around foreign tourists alone."
"Turkey will be hit as a target"
When will we return to a kind of routine in the tourism and aviation industry?
"The first quarter of 2024 is already finished – many airlines have announced that they will only return around April. The likelihood that we will return to a kind of aviation routine is around Passover and beyond, and that is if there is no change and there are no new fronts.
"It can be assumed that the impact next year will be at least 4 million passengers. Our working assumption is that next year about 18 million passengers will pass through Ben Gurion Airport. We believe that the Israeli product will be strong next year, and therefore Israeli airlines are expected to strengthen and their market share is expected to grow. We believe Israair will reach about 8% next year."
Turkey has been the leading destination in recent years. What can be expected about it after the war?
"Turkey has been the leading vacation destination among Israelis, and it will certainly be hurt, mainly because Erdogan is a strong supporter of Hamas. So now the Israeli public is afraid to vacation in Turkey."
Turkish President Erdogan. An ardent Hamas supporter, photo: AP
"There are quite a few macroeconomic events. Currently, gasoline is trading at low values and there is an expectation of an interest rate cut, which means that the shekel is expected to strengthen against the dollar. This will cause the prices of air tickets in shekels to drop and become more comfortable."
The tourist map is expected to change, with new destinations. What are your assessments on this matter?
"We are increasing our flights to Athens and the Greek islands due to the high demand, and also because we have invested in hotels there. Greece will be a great substitute for Turkey, but Bulgaria and Georgia are also close and cheap destinations."
What can we expect when it comes to flight prices?
"I assume that airfares in the summer will be high. This summer is different from other summers for two reasons: first, the location of Tisha B'Av and the days before it. This falls at the peak of the summer season, causing demand to concentrate in the last two weeks of August. This period is expected to be expensive, along with the first two weeks of summer. And the second reason is that people will want to leave after the war, and we expect a lot of demand."
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us