Cancellation of Masa, Birthright due to COVID-19 to cost Israel $200m.
The heritage tourism industry typically brings some 80,000 Jewish teenagers and young adults to Israel from around the world for trips and tours, internships and volunteer work.
By AARON REICHMASA ISRAELI participants at the Khan Be’erot camping area at the Ramon Crater (Makhtesh Ramon).(photo credit: GUY YEHIELI)
The cancellation of heritage trips like Birthright-Taglit and Masa Israel Journey as a result of the coronavirus pandemic will result a loss of around $200 million for the Israeli economy, the Israeli financial daily Calcalist reported on Sunday.The heritage tourism industry typically brings some 80,000 Jewish teenagers and young adults from around the world for trips and tours, internships and volunteer work across the country. This industry usually brings in around $300m. annually for the State of Israel, and that's excluding the revenue from flights.The industry is a joint effort between the Israeli government and multiple philanthropic organizations, with the various programs being funded as a means of supporting what they see as a way to help spread their message to Jews around the world, Calcalist reported.But some 60,000 Jewish teenagers and young adults had their programs shut down, after all spring and summer programs were canceled in an attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. At the time of writing, it is still unclear if the programs will able to push ahead with their winter trips.The Israel Experience – Educational Tourism Services Ltd., which is the organization responsible for organizing many of the heritage trips, lost $40m. in the last four months, Director-General Amos Hermon told Calcalist, adding that 75% of Israel Experience employees have been on unpaid leave since the crisis began.Hermon added that the industry might completely collapse before the winter season if they did not receive any government support.Compounding the financial worries of the heritage tourism industry is the fact that philanthropic donations have been on the decline. This is due to many of their donors shifting funds towards urgent social assistance programs, the financial daily reported.In May, the Interior Ministry announced that they will approve entry for travelers with Masa visas, despite restrictions on non-citizens arriving in Israel during the pandemic.The ministry added that this would include those Masa participants that left earlier, when the pandemic began, and who will re-enter the country as new participants.However, they will not be exempt from the mandatory 14-day quarantine period, though they will still receive orientations, Hebrew-language courses and educational seminars during this period.
Though many left the country when the pandemic hit, thousands of Masa participants stayed behind in Israel when borders were closed.Marcy Oster/JTA contributed to this report.
