Why do Israelis prefer vacationing abroad? The figures speak for themselves. 77% of Israel believe that they get less value for money on a vacation in Israel than on an overseas vacation, and 54% said that what they got in Israel was much less than what they got overseas. This figure should serve as a warning to Israeli hoteliers frustrated at Israelis crowding the foreign air routes.
The main trigger is price. The figures are from a survey conducted among 2,000 people aged 18+ by the Sarid Institute for Research Services. Survey respondents said that the most important aspect of planning a vacation in Israel was the price. Actually, according to the survey, if the price of a vacation in Israel were the same as that of an overseas vacation, one fifth of them would choose to spend their vacation in Israel rather than travel abroad. In a breakdown by age, younger respondents expressed greater willingness to choose a vacation in Israel over an overseas vacation at the same price.
Among the 67% of Israelis who took one or two vacations a year (including overnight stays in Israel), 70% of them said that they went abroad on vacation at least once a year. 70% of them flew to a destination in Europe, 10% to Asia, and 9% to North America.
While the government is pursuing a policy of encouraging aviation traffic to Israel through an open skies policy, and grants and subsidies for foreign airlines, in order to increase the number of tourists visiting Israel, the number of Israelis going overseas every year is growing faster. It is almost double the number of tourists visiting Israel. Israelis take over eight million flights overseas a year, compared with 4.5 million tourists visiting Israel a year (estimated for 2019). An overseas vacation frequently replaces a vacation in Israel.
According to the survey, the leading market for an Israeli vacation is parents of children under 15, who go on vacation more than parents of older children and families with no children. Traditional and religiously observant Jews of a nationalist bent vacation in Israel more frequently than haredim (ultra-Orthodox Jews) and secular Jews. People with a high socioeconomic status vacation in Israel more frequently than people with lower than average economic status.
Several aspects are taken into account in planning a vacation. 46% said the most important consideration was price, 28% said location was most important, 20% said the dates of the vacation, and 6% cited the type of hotel. Half of vacationers go on vacations lasting 3-4 days, while 34% go on vacation for one or two days. These figures are based on 3,000 vacations reported by the respondents. 66% of respondents stayed in hotels, 17% in rural guest rooms, 5% in an urban apartment, 3% in kibbutz field schools or guest houses, and 4% in camping grounds. 47% said that the level of the facilities was medium, 38% said it was good, and 15% said it was cheap.
How much did the vacation in Israel cost? According to the survey, the average cost of a vacation was NIS 1,500 per person. The average cost of lodging was NIS 940. 41% reported that they paid more than NIS 800 just on lodging, while 29% reported that they spent up to NIS 400. In calculating the cost of the vacation, 32% mentioned a budget of NIS 500-1,000 per person, 22% up to NIS 500 per person, and 23% NIS 1,000-2,000 per person.
Even vacationers in Israel prefer reserving vacations through foreign websites. The favorite website/app among Israelis is Booking.com by a wide margin; it was mentioned by 56% of the respondents as a channel through which they reserve a vacation in Israel. The second most popular website is also not Israeli - 16% cited Trivago, which is a price comparison website, not a website for making reservations. 8% of respondents cited the website of the Fattal hotel chain, and 5% each for HotelsCombined and Travelist (both of which are price comparison websites, not websites for making reservations). 3% each reserve vacations through GROO, Hotels.com, and Hulyo.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 4, 2019
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