Russian visitors retained the fourth position among foreign tourists to Israel in 2024, with the United States leading far ahead of others with 330,300 arrivals, followed by France (130,700) and the United Kingdom (79,100).
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Israel’s Ministry of Tourism that is actively working to increase tourism from Russia, including increasing flight frequency between the two countries, has recently completed a business visit to Moscow.
This trip, led by Israel’s Minister of Tourism Haim Katz, was designed to expedite the recovery and expansion of Russian tourism to Israel, underscored by the upcoming launch of the direct Moscow-Eilat route following a two-year break.
In 2024, approximately 72,600 Russian tourists visited Israel, a significant decrease from the 158,500 visitors in 2023.
According to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, 3 million foreign tourists visited Israel in 2023. The number of tourists fell after the Israeli-Hamas conflict escalated on October 7, 2023.
Despite the decline, Russian visitors retained the fourth position among foreign tourists to Israel in 2024, with the United States leading far ahead of others with 330,300 arrivals, followed by France (130,700) and the United Kingdom (79,100).
Russian citizens, along with other visa-exempt nationalities, are required to obtain an ETA-IL before entering Israel, streamlining the entry process.
The recent visit concentrated on high-level discussions with airlines, tour operators, online travel agencies, and media organizations. These conversations resulted in significant progress, including ongoing negotiations with an additional airline to establish a new route to Israel.
The trip commenced with a celebratory event featuring prominent figures from the tourism industry, during which a new flight schedule was announced. Beginning in the first half of June 2025, the frequency of weekly flights between Russia and Israel is expected to rise significantly, increasing from 18 to 30. Additionally, flight services will expand from two to four Russian cities: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, and Mineralnye Vody. Notably, flights will no longer be restricted to Tel Aviv, as the Eilat route will be introduced, marking the first addition since 2020.
Ministry of Tourism
The Ministry of Tourism is an economic ministry, whose primary aim is to increase economic activity. The ministry is responsible for the planning, development and marketing policies in the tourism industry. The ministry has defined its goals to increase internal tourism and to focus on overseas marketing in target countries and sectors that could drive incoming tourism.
Director General of the Israel Ministry of Tourism Dani Shahar said: “Russia has always been and remains one of our key tourism markets. Today, we are seeing not just a recovery, but also a steady increase in Russian interest in Israel. The growth in the number of flights, the expansion of flight destinations, and the return of the Eilat route are a response to high demand and a confident step towards strengthening ties between our countries”.
In his discussions with local tourism professionals, Shahar highlighted a 7.4% rise in tourist arrivals from Russia to Israel from January to April of this year, in comparison to the same timeframe in 2024. He stressed the importance of further enhancing flight frequency between the two countries and deliberated on strategies for online advertising campaigns and marketing partnerships with tour operators and travel services.
This recent visit is a direct continuation of prior initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism in the Russian market. These initiatives encompass hosting a Russian delegation of agents, airline representatives, and journalists who explored significant tourist attractions throughout Israel and engaged with local industry stakeholders to customize vacation packages for their clients. Simultaneously, the CEO of Red Wings Airlines visited Israel to finalize the launch of the direct Moscow-Eilat route, which is set to begin operations on June 12.
