Stock exchange plunges, planes take off

Vacation, here I come: Despite fears that the financial market crisis will spread to other fields, it appears that in some areas Israelis are undeterred. According to tour operators, there has been no wave of cancellations of trips abroad, and the High Holidays even saw a rise in bookings.

The Ben-Gurion Airport departures board may cause us to believe Israel was left out of the crisis. According to Yossi Fattal, head of the Israel Tourist and Travel Agents Association, the holiday vacation season is not influenced by the global economic situation or the local stock exchange plunge.

However, the tourism industry does not hide its concern in regards to what will happen after the holidays, and believes a change will be seen in vacation habits in a short while.

"There is definitely some tension in the industry in regards to the near future," admits Fattal. "One must remember that a vacation, whether in Israel or abroad, is a basic commodity which people try not to give up.

"There have already been severe economic and security-related crises, and people continued to take vacations. What will happen is that people will simply change their habits: They'll take shorter vacations to closer and cheaper destinations, and will perhaps extend credit."

One field which is definitely expected to suffer from the current crisis is incoming tourism. August saw drop of 2% in the entry of tourists from the United States, and the industry expects that recreation and business tourism will suffer even more as the US economic crisis deepens.

"The Israeli shekel has become an expensive currency, and Israel is accordingly becoming a very expensive country for tourists, particularly when comparing the prices in neighboring countries – Egypt, Jordan and Turkey," says Fattal.

"Apart from that, in regards to business trips and businesses collapsing abroad, people are definitely cutting down on their travels," he adds.