Israel Will Reopen For Small Foreign Tour Groups

Israel will reopen for small foreign tour groups. Israel will allow small foreign tour groups from selective countries to visit as of September 19 as part of a pilot program to launch tourism, the government said on Sunday.

In the statement made by the tourism ministry, it was stated that tour groups of 5 to 30 people from countries on Israel's green, yellow and orange lists will be allowed to enter the country, provided that all group members are fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Individual tourists who have not been allowed to visit Israel since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in Israel in March 2020 will still not be allowed outside of a tour group unless they have been visiting family members. In May, with the decline in Covid-19 infections, Israel allowed small tour groups. The arrival of more than 2,000 visitors, mainly from the United States and Europe, has raised hopes of recovery in a tourism industry battered by the pandemic. But that initiative was paused in August with the spread of the Delta variant, leading to an increase in Covid-19 infections in Israel despite a world-leading vaccine rollout. According to the new plan, there will be no restrictions on the number of tour groups, but groups from countries on Israel's red list, which currently consists of Bulgaria, Brazil, Mexico and Turkey, will not be allowed. Foreign tourists must prove they have received a second Covid-19 vaccine or booster vaccine in the last six months to be eligible for entry. Tourists will also present a negative PCR test taken up to 72 hours prior to arrival and undergo a serological test when they land at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport. In 2019, 4.55 million tourists visited Israel, contributing $7.2 billion to the local economy. The ministry stated that "no corona cases were detected" among groups that entered after restrictions were eased in May. Israel reported nearly 5,000 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, up from the level of 11,201 pandemics reported last Thursday. Of Israel's 9.3 million population, 5.5 million received two doses and 2.5 million received three doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.     Source: Investing.com