First group of foreign tourists arrive in Israel

Published on : Friday, May 28, 2021

After more than a year, the first group of foreign tourists came to Israel on Thursday after the government started reopening its borders after a sharp decline in COVID-19 infections.

Small groups of vaccinated foreign tourists of up to 30 people have been allowed to enter Israel. The Tourism Ministry of Israel expects 20 such groups to come from countries, including the United States, Britain and Germany, under a pilot programme until June 15.

Following that, the ministry hopes to expand the number of groups and, in July, allow individual tourists as well.
United Airlines flight 90 from Newark, New Jersey landed with 12 Christian pilgrims, men and women of varying ages, studying theology at the Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. They were welcomed by Tourism Minister Orit Farkash-Hakohen, who said: “You are the first of what I am sure will be many tourists returning to the Holy Land.”
Led by Pastor Tom Zelt of the Prince of Peace Church, the group is expected to visit Jerusalem, Nazareth, national parks and Christian sites.

“Israel is … healthy and vaccinated. Everything is now safely open,” Farkash-Hakohen informed the group.

The country had closed its borders to foreigners at the onset of the corona virus pandemic in March 2020. After a rapid vaccine roll-out, most adults are now vaccinated, bringing the number of active COVID cases to just 428 nationwide. This has paved the way for Israel to allow vaccinated foreigners to enter the country and revive its tourism sector. However, officials are cautious over potential new variants.

Tourists are required to produce negative PCR test reports before flying and to take another test at Ben Gurion Airport after landing in Tel Aviv.

Groups will also need to take serological tests at their hotel to prove that they have COVID-19 antibodies. They will need to quarantine until results come back, usually in few hours.

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