The recent war in the Middle East has redrawn Israel’s outbound tourism map. While most foreign airlines halted operations, Fly Dubai and Etihad continued flying—cementing the UAE as Israel’s new gateway to Asia. Turkish Airlines’ absence and limited global options allowed El Al and the other three Israeli airlines to thrive. El Al has become the world’s most profitable carrier in 2025. If before the war, Israelis traveled all over the globe (out of a population of 9.5M, they created 9.1 trips abroad!), they are now much more “picky” regarding their preferred destinations. They search for stress-free, pampering, healing, romantic and family-friendly vacations. As a result, there is a huge increase of Israelis traveling to safe and Israeli-friendly destinations in Central and East Europe and Asia.
Two examples of Tourism Boards, represented by Terranova: during the first 10 months of 2025, Israeli arrivals to Thailand increased by 55%. Israel is now#4 of all European and Middle East source markets. Israeli tourists to Hungary in 2025 vs 2024: +61%. Not only are Israelis increasing their trips to the East, they are also the biggest spenders (#1 of all source markets to Thailand; #2 to Hungary).
Interested in developing yourdestination or tourism product in Israel? Please contact Imri Kalmann, CEO: imri@terranova.co.il