good time to travel to Israel

Mideast unrest causes travel prices to drop
Clashes in Libya, Syria and Palestinians' intention to declare statehood deter tourists from making reservations
Danny Sadeh
Published: 06.23.11, 14:28 / Israel Travel

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Planning a trip to or from Israel for September? You might get unexpected aid from the brutal regimes in Syria and Libya, and the Palestinians' threat to declare independence. Recent months have seen a drop in the number of reservations made by tourists planning to visit the Holy Land – a result of the turbulent developments in the Middle East.

The air travel market has been facing a new threat in recent weeks in the form of the Palestinians' intention to declare statehood in September. The effect is already felt in the number of reservations made for the end of the summer and the Jewish holiday season, as well the month of November. As per the estimation of foreign air carriers, the number of reservations made for the fall has dropped by 15% compared to last year.
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The airlines traveling from the Unites States to Israel have suffered the brunt of the slowdown. One airline CEO said that American tourists tend to reserve plane tickets several months in advance – something that they are currently not doing. "The (impending) declaration of a Palestinian state in September is causing many to sit on the fence and wait," he said.

Reducing prices to sell seats
"Those who intended to arrive over the holiday season and after in have stopped their reservations because no one knows what will happen here in September," a different CEO of a foreign airline said.

Another airline official added that he expects companies to launch promotions soon – which will benefit Israeli travelers. "The Israelis continue to travel, but they won't go at any price," he said. "If we won't be able to fill the planes with tourists, we will need to fill them with Israelis, and we can only do that if we reduce the prices."
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According to the senior official, plane ticket sales have already started popping up on flights going to North American destinations for the end of the summer and September. "The company has reduced the prices by 20% because of the lack of tourist reservation from the United States," he said. "No one knows what will happen."

"In such situations we just have to reduce prices sell seats," he explained. "There's no doubt that the public will enjoy it, but the airlines will lose a lot of money."