Israelis are flocking abroad, and sentiment in the domestic hotel industry remains negative
According to a CBS publication, 1.3 million Israelis left the country last July — the strongest figure since the start of the war. Meanwhile, the CBS business trends survey presents a complex picture regarding hotels in Israel: the net balance of Israeli overnight stays is positive, but the balance of tourist overnight stays remains negative.
Two publications from the CBS last week shed light on the state of the hotel industry in the country on one hand, and on the Israelis' thirst for a vacation abroad on the other. The first publication presents unequivocal data: 1.3 million Israelis left Israel last July (1.15 million of them did so by air). In fact, this is the strongest figure since the war began. For comparison, last July about 1.1 million Israelis left the country.
On the other hand, the business trends survey presents a more complex picture regarding the hotel sector. The survey is analyzed using a net balance — the weighted difference between the percentage of managers who assessed the company's situation positively compared to those who assessed it negatively. In response to the question "What is your assessment of the company's business/economic situation as of today?", the weighted score is -18%. Although this is an improvement compared to previous months (in March the score stood at -46%, and in June at -20%), it is evident that sentiment in the industry remains negative.
However, there is no doubt that the summer and the desire of Israelis to vacation brings change: for the first time since November 2025, the net balance of Israeli overnight stays is positive (6.2%). At the same time, a variety of categories remain negative — the number of tourist overnight stays (-42.9%), the number of employees (-2.2%), and company revenue (-6.4%).
The strong shekel and pent-up demand
If there are no surprises, the figure for Israelis going abroad is expected to be broken in August. Ofer Klein, head of the Economics and Research Department at Harel Insurance and Finance, explains that this is driven by the strength of the shekel as well as pent-up demand — the desire to fly that was postponed due to the war. Thus, to a large extent, the data "compensates" for previous months.
These figures are reinforced by various foreign airlines returning to Israel and increasing supply. This trend continues: this month, SWISS, Condor, and Brussels Airlines returned to Israel, with KLM, Delta, and United expected to join later.
Looking more broadly, in the months of January-July this year, 4.67 million departures were recorded, compared to 4.88 million in the same period last year. This figure is influenced by Operation "Lion's Roar".
"The gap between the rapid return of Israelis to flying and the slow recovery of inbound tourism remains one of the most prominent characteristics of the tourism industry," Klein summarizes.
