Israel, the first country to close its borders to tourism in 2020, will open them again to unvaccinated tourists on March 1. Things are starting to look up on the travel front for countries across the world. Not only are people planning and booking travel now more than ever, countries are beginning to reopen their borders for tourism.
Now, in less than two weeks, Israel will begin welcoming tourists with or without vaccinations. The country had a ‘soft opening‘ in November of last year. They began accepting tourists with proof of vaccination, as well as a PCR test. Four months later, the country is ready to open to tourism fully.
Discussions last Sunday between the health and prime Ministers of Israel, led to this decision. According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s office, “At the moment, the situation in Israel is good. This is the result of correct and dynamic management; therefore, we are now opening up…we will continue to closely monitor the situation and in the event of a new variant, we will again act quickly.”
Seeing six times less cases in the last week of January than in the first week of February, the country’s authorities feel it is safe to open borders to tourism once again. According to CNN Travel, Israel lost over 7 billion in tourism dollars since the beginning of 2020.
The country is still taking precautions to keep its people safe. Visitors will be required to take a PCR test before departure and upon arrival to the country. All ages will be allowed to visit again starting March 1 without having to quarantine for any amount of time.
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