Israel will allow small foreign tour groups from selective countries to visit from Sept. 19 under a pilot program to kick-start tourism, the government said on Sunday.
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Tour groups of between five and 30 people from countries on Israel's green, yellow, and orange lists will be allowed to enter the country provided all group members have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the tourism ministry said.
Individual tourists, who have not been allowed to visit Israel since the outset of the coronavirus pandemic unless visiting family members, will still not be allowed to enter outside of a tour group.
In May, amid a drop in COVID-19 infections, Israel allowed in small tour groups. More than 2,000 visitors arrived, mainly from the United States and Europe, raising hopes of recovery within a tourism industry battered by the pandemic.
The initiative, however, was paused in August as the Delta variant spread, leading to a surge in COVID-19 infections in Israel, despite a world-leading vaccination rollout.
Under the new plan, there will be no restrictions on the number of tour groups Israel lets in, the ministry said, but groups from countries on Israel's red list - which currently comprises Bulgaria, Brazil, Mexico, and Turkey - will not be eligible.
Foreign tourists must show proof they have received a second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine within the last six months or a booster shot in order to qualify for entry.
The tourists will also have to present a negative PCR test up to 72 hours before arrival and will undergo a serological test once they land at Ben Gurion Airport. Visitors will also be required to quarantine in their hotels until the test results come back – a process expected to take no more than 24 hours.
In 2019, a record-high 4.55 million tourists visited Israel, adding 23 billion shekels ($7.2 billion) to the local economy.
The ministry said "not one corona case was identified among the groups" that entered when restrictions were eased in May. It said it hoped individual tourists would be allowed to visit in the near future, "depending on morbidity rates in Israel and around the world".
In recent weeks, Israel has begun administering booster shots to anyone who was vaccinated over five months ago. The campaign has shown signs of controlling the delta outbreak, allowing the government to begin allowing tourists to return.
Out of Israel's population of 9.3 million, 5.5 million have received two doses and another 2.5 million have received three doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
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