Greek island. New popular destination
Photo: Ziv Reinstein
July sees 72% drop in Israeli travelers to Antalya
According to Israel Airports Authority data, Greece is main beneficiary from situation, with 75% increase in Israeli tourists, compared to July 2009. Last month also saw 31% rise in Israeli travelers to Bulgaria, only 4% increase in travels to Cyprus
July 2010 recorded a 72% drop in the number of Israeli travelers from Ben-Gurion International Airport to Antalya, Turkey, compared to the same month last year, according to data published by the Israeli Airports Authority and reported by Calcalist on Wednesday.
Greece appears to have benefited from the situation: According to IAA data, traffic between Israel
and Greece in July saw a 75% increase, compared to July 2009, with 84,000 outgoing and incoming passengers traveling between the two countries.
There was a 63% drop in traffic between Israel and all destinations in Turkey as compared to July 2009, with a total of 43,000 passengers traveling between the two countries. June marked a 45% decrease in traffic between the countries, as a result of the flotilla affair.
Flotilla Effect
Associated Press
Turkish Tourism and Culture Ministry says only 2,600 Israelis visited country in June, compared with over 27,000 in June 2009
Greece has become the fifth most popular destination for passengers flying out of Ben-Gurion International Airport, after the United States, Germany, Italy and France. Turkey is now in the 10th place, after coming in second in July 2009 and holding the top spot in July 2008.
As for destinations presented as an alternative to Turkey, Bulgaria recorded a 31% increase in Israeli travelers in July, compared to the same month last year. Cyprus, however, saw only a 4% increase.
Based on cumulative data, there was a 9% decline in passenger traffic from Israel to Turkey between January and June 2010, alongside an 11% increase in traffic to the United States, 19% increase in traffic to Germany, 30% increase in traffic to Italy and a 44% increase in passenger traffic to Greece.
El Al recorded a 1.5% increase in passenger traffic in July, compared to the same month last year; Arkia saw a 23% increase; Sun d'Or passenger traffic went up 16% and Israir passenger traffic increased by 34%.
A total of 1.2 million inbound and outbound passengers went through Ben-Gurion International Airport in July, a 4% increase compared to July 2009. There were 8,575 international arrivals and departures, marking a 1.5% increase. During the first seven months of the year, some 6.2 million international passengers went through the airport, a 12% increase compared to the same period last year.
Some 48,000 domestic travelers passed through Ben-Gurion International Airport – a 32% increase. From the beginning of the year to July, some 347,000 domestic travelers passed through Ben-Gurion International Airport – a rise of 37%.
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