While countries begin to open up systematically worldwide, the hope for restored travel shines bright. As the list of countries grows by the week, Israel adds itself. The nation pledges to open its borders to tourists beginning March 1.
Israel to Open Borders Tuesday
Despite Covid vaccination status, all tourists are welcome to enter the country on Tuesday. However, all incoming tourists will need negative PCR test results before takeoff and after landing in Israel. Israel hasn’t welcomed unvaccinated tourists beyond its borders since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.
Israeli nationals returning to the country will only need to take a PCR test upon arrival. The previous requirement for an antigen test before boarding ends effectively March 1. Unvaccinated Israeli nationals will no longer have to quarantine if their PCR test results are negative.
Spurring Their Decision
The decision comes after a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz. “We are seeing a steady decline in the morbidity data; therefore, this is the time to gradually open what we were the first in the world to close,” Bennett said on Sunday.
The number of new Covid cases in Israel has declined significantly over the past few weeks. According to data from Johns Hopkins, following a record high of over six-hundred thousand new cases for the last week of January, Israel dropped to just over a sixth of those numbers last week.
According to the Israeli Tourism Ministry, stopping tourism over the pandemic cost the Israeli economy more than $7.02 billion. Israel had a record tourist turnout the year before the pandemic, with 4.55 million visitors in 2019, adding $7.2 billion to the local economy.
Since November, tourists who could prove complete vaccination were allowed entry into Israel, subject to pre-and post-flight PCR tests and a short quarantine, although tourist numbers have remained low.