The number of Israeli tourists visiting Turkey reached a record 632,000 between July and September, according to official figures – surpassing the 569,000 Israeli visitors Turkey hosted in 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic flipped world travel on its head.
The 630,000 Israeli tourists also mark a nearly 450% increase compared to 2021, when 115,000 Israeli tourists visited, signaling a recovery for tourism between Israel and Turkey.
“Israelis can fly to Antalya in an hour and 15 minutes and to Istanbul in an hour and a half, and both Israeli-Arabs and Jews are really familiar with Turkish culture, they find comfort in it,” Hakan Sahin, the owner of a tour company that specializes in Israelis traveling to Turkey, told Middle East Eye on Thursday.
Israeli tourism to Turkey
Despite the flourishing of tourism, a few stunning incidents have made headlines in the past twelve months. An Iranian plot to kidnap several Israeli tourists was thwarted by Israel's Mossad and Turkish Intelligence in June, while a couple from Modiin was arrested in November 2021 on charges of espionage after taking photos of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s presidential palace.
The record number of Israeli visitors shows that despite the geopolitical situation, Turkey is becoming among the most popular holiday destinations for Israelis.
Israeli-Turkish ties
The increase in tourism between the two former adversaries has flourished in recent years after a decade of fraught ties – especially after the Mavi Marmara flotilla incident. After mostly refusing to engage with one another officially throughout the 2010s, ties began to improve amid the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020.
Then-Prime Minister Yair Lapid declared the full restoration of diplomatic relations with Turkey in August and appointed the first ambassador to Turkey since ties began to deteriorate in 2008.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said ahead of Israel's elections he wanted to maintain Turkey's relations with Israel based on mutual understanding, no matter the election outcome.