Israel’s local vaccination campaign is running smoothly and as a result, it is expected that much of the local Israeli population will be vaccinated by the end of March 2021. As such tourists to the Holy Land will likely begin to arrive to Israel with specific conditions. According to Israel’s Incoming Tour Operator Association, the below DRAFT protocols are being considered for welcoming international tourists to Israel. Note these are DRAFT, and the restrictions could be revised and relaxed further depending on the situation.
Before entering Israel for their Holy Land travel experience, each tourist must fill out an inbound passenger health statement form on the Ministry of Health’ website. The form with the approval by the Health Ministry will be submitted to the Immigration authority.
The first phase will allow entrance to tourists from green countries only. In addition to the health declaration form, there is a 72-hour NEGATIVE COVID-19 Test requirement which is mandatory for each tourist upon his/her arrival to the country.
With regard to groups: “The member of the Israel Incoming Tour operators Association must submit an application on the Ministry of Tourism’s website for approval for the group to enter Israel (minimum 5 tourists in the group) the Israeli agent will have to provide the following information:
* Name of the (hotel) accommodations and the itinerary (route)
* Name of the guide and driver, who will have to stay with the group throughout the tour – until the group departs and is not under any circumstances be replaced while the group is in Israel.
*Details of the tourist group including flight details, including arrival and departure dates, airline and flight number.
*The group leader must have an Israeli mobile phone with him at all times so that he can be reached throughout the tour.
Every tourist is required to have health insurance that includes coverage for lockdown, isolation quarantine or hospitalization as a result of Corona (Covid 19) The Israeli agents will be held responsible should the case be so, for any tourist who is not covered by his/her insurance company.
The group will have a 24/7 connection to an emergency room, should it be needed for any health issue.
There will be an accurate record of the group’s movement throughout Israel. The Israel Incoming Tour Operators Assoc. will provide the members with an app that will record the movement of groups should it be necessary to report infection.
The groups movements will be separate as much as possible during the event and will behave in accordance with the rules to protect the public.
All tourist sites that are on the itinerary / route must be licensed according to the recent health & cleanliness and health regulations issued by the government.
Our efforts are aimed to get permission for tourists from all countries, regardless of the country’s status as red or green, subject to the stipulations of the Corona examination prior to the arrival in Israel. We assume that the discussion(deliberation) will be more relevant towards the end of March 2021, with the completion of the vaccination campaign in Israel.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for any clarification, questions or requests. As mentioned in the onset, the above is still in the planning stages awaiting for approval by the government officials and implementation subject to the Health Cabinet.
The State of Israel has an excellent opportunity of being the first in the world to vaccinate most of the population and thus will be able to remove the restrictions enabling incoming tourism to resume – according to the government’s decision. The Israel Incoming Tour Operators Association is working currently together with the government on being able to permit tourists who have a valid certificate of proof that that they have been vaccinated, to enter the country, As well, they are working to find the appropriate procedures for tourists who will be coming after the vaccination campaign is completed (expected date – March 21 2021).
