Israel
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October 2024
Israel is among leaders in the share of people taking international trips. It is a rapidly growing outbound travel market in the Middle East region, with a significant importance to tourism destinations in Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. Before the Gaza war, Israel has been a key outbound travel market for numerous destinations in Europe and the Mediterranean region. In 2023, Israelis have taken 9 million outbound trips (+7% compared to 2022). Resulting from Israel’s geographic location, 92% of these trips were made by air. The top 5 first destinations for flights to/ from Israel in 2023 were Turkey, USA, Greece, Italy and UK. The top 5 airlines serving Israel in 2023 were El Al, Wizzair, Ryanair, Turkish Airlines and Israir.
ATB is focused on highlighting Azerbaijan's rich culture, nature, Jewish heritage, shopping and cuisine. Due to the war situation, Israelis stopped traveling to some popular destinations, discovering new destinations and paying more attention to Azerbaijan’s offerings. From 2024 numerous travel agents organized their first ever tours to Azerbaijan.
Israeli travelers can be divided into several categories based on age, language, belief, interests, behavior, etc. However, 4 main groups can be outlined:
Families: Israel is a very familial country. Usually, large families of from 4 up to 15 people.
Young Couples: The younger generation, especially Hi-Techers, usually travel 3-4 times a year and go on shorter holidays on weekends. Soldiers after army service also can be referred to this category.
Group Tours: Usually, Israelis aged 50+ organized by groups of 15-25 people, guided by a travel agent
Business: due to strong business ties with Azerbaijan a lot of Israelis travel to for business purposes.
Religious travellers: mostly travel in large groups; trips are organized by a trusted travel company, planned long in advance.
Spendings of Israelis on average abroad dropped from $3,000 in 2018 to $2,219 in 2022.
The vacation planning and travel decision period among Israelis can vary based on:
In 2018, the average travel duration booked by Israeli tourists was 8.9 days. Lately, that number decreased by over a quarter (27%) to 6.5 days.
Updated information about flight connectivity can be found on the interactive board of the State Tourism Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Between 2018 and 2023, the number of Israeli tourists visiting Azerbaijan has shown significant fluctuations, reflecting a dynamic trend driven by various global and regional factors.
In 2018, the number of Israeli travellers stood at 40,082, indicating a healthy level of tourism. This figure grew further in 2019, reaching 47,003, marking a steady increase in interest from Israeli tourists. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 led to a dramatic decline, with only 4,238 Israeli tourists visiting Azerbaijan. The restrictions on international travel and health concerns largely explain this sharp drop.
In 2021, the numbers started to recover slightly, with 6,622 Israeli tourists arriving in Azerbaijan, showing early signs of post-pandemic recovery. However, the most notable rebound came in 2022, when the number of Israeli tourists surged to 23,935, reflecting the easing of travel restrictions and renewed interest in international travel.
This upward trend continued in 2023, with 29,093 Israeli tourists visiting Azerbaijan. The steady growth from 2021 to 2023 demonstrates a strong resurgence in tourism, driven by improved conditions, increased connectivity, and the appeal of Azerbaijan as a destination for Israeli travellers.
Source: State Migration Service
A significant portion (79.4%) of Israeli tourists travelled for this purpose, making it the primary reason for visits. 11.8% of Israeli tourists visited for this reason, showing a moderate amount of family or friend-related travel. Together with this, 5.9% of Israeli travellers came for health or medical care purposes, indicating interest in medical tourism.
The majority of Israeli tourists fall in the range of 500-3000 AZN, with 500-1000 AZN being the most common expenditure range. Therefore, the average Israeli tourist likely spends between 1000-3000 AZN during a trip to Azerbaijan, half of the total budget spent on accommodation, food and event activities.
13.5% of Israelis stayed in Baku for 2-7 nights, while 16.7% spent more than 31 nights in regions.
The most visited regions by Israelis in Azerbaijan are Gabala, Guba, Gusar, Gobustan and Naftalan.
Israeli tourists show preference for various tourism products such as nature, gastronomy and wine, sightseeing, skiing, outdoor activities, SPA and wellness. Due to variety of the tourists’ groups subject of interests may significantly vary still falling under the ATB product categories and sub-categories.
Israeli tourists are interested in all the products grouped into “Fits all” – products that all first-time visitors should see or experience, as well as in “Add-ons” – products that can be seen or experienced with longer or repeat visits, and “Tailored” – products that are considered of specific relevance to the market.
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Fits all |
Add-ons |
Tailored |
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Historical Buildings |
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Monuments |
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Museums, Galleries & libraries |
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Sports |
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Ethnic & Cultural Villages |
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Farms & agricultural production |
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Shopping |
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Vineyards & wineries |
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In Q1 2024, Israelis took over 1 million outbound trips, down by 45% compared to January-March 2023. This drop is explained by the war actions happening in the south and north of the country. Nevertheless, the rebound of Israelis traveling abroad is surprisingly high (74% of the numbers for the same period of 2023) especially considering the high increase in air ticket costs, the devaluation of the NIS and the sombre mood of the Israelis. Many airlines cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv till the end of October 2024 due to military operations and unstable situation. Israelis being leaders in outbound travels will restore their trips upon normalization of the situation.
Jamilya Talibzade, Director of Representation Office in Israel