Israel opens borders to tourists for first time in 18 months

Israel on Monday opened its borders for the first time since March 2020 to tourists who are vaccinated against Covid-19 or have recovered from the disease, but the first day of the long-awaited reopening of the skies was chaotic, leaving hundreds of would-be visitors stranded.

Some of the new regulations were changed at the last minute, and airlines only received a formal announcement from the authorities on Sunday night informing them that they were responsible for ensuring that arriving passengers meet health ministry requirements.

The forms that incoming tourists have to fill out 24 hours before their arrival were not printed on time and hundreds of passengers at various airports around the world reported that they had been refused permission to fly.

For more than 18 months, entrance to the country was strictly limited to Israelis and a small number of vaccinated first-degree relatives of Israeli nationals.

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The reopening of borders was delayed numerous times due to surges in coronavirus infections, and Monday’s reopening followed weeks of decreasing infection rates, and confidence from health officials that Israel had finally defeated the fourth wave of the pandemic.

However, tourists wishing to visit must have received a Covid-19 vaccine or show proof of recovery within the past six months, ruling out people who were vaccinated early in countries where there are no booster shots. Travellers must also present a recent negative coronavirus test before boarding their flights and take another one upon arrival.

Teething problems

The new regulations mean children with immunity from having recovered from Covid-19 will not meet the criteria, except for a small minority of recovered children from European Union countries and 18 additional countries that signed an EU pact where their Covid cases were recorded digitally and they can produce a "digital recovery certificate".

Despite the teething problems, tourism officials welcomed the easing of restrictions and expressed hope that this marked the beginning of the end of a period that has decimated the hotel and tourist industries, resulting in the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs.

As tourism gradually recovers, the industry may look significantly different in the coming years following a government announcement on Sunday night that it intends to prevent the use of apartments for short-term tourist rentals.

The new measure, which will primarily affect rental sites such as Airbnb and Booking.com, is part of a government effort to make more apartments available for would-be Israeli home purchasers faced with increasingly unaffordable prices.

But government officials, aware that Israel doesn't have nearly enough hotel rooms in popular tourist destinations such as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv during peak periods, were unable to explain how they intended to meet the shortfall.