Following the escalation between Israel and Iran, German specialist tour operators for the region in particular are having to get used to the new situation again. What the war means for them and their business.
The war between Israel and Iran has further exacerbated the situation in the Middle East, which is also having an impact on tourism in the region. How the ceasefire between the two countries will now develop cannot yet be properly assessed. The question therefore remains: how are specialist tour operators for Israel in particular dealing with the current situation?
Israel trips currently canceled
“We are not offering any trips to Israel at the moment,” says Gerd Müller, General Manager of Israel specialist Diesenhaus Ram, in an interview with fvw|TravelTalk. “And Jordan is also suffering greatly from the situation.” Scuba-Reisen is handling the situation similarly: “After the temporary lifting of the travel warning by the German Foreign Office in February of this year, tourism to Israel slowly began to recover. But with the renewed travel warning, we canceled all trips at short notice,” reports Managing Director Gilad Riedl.
„Despite these expansions, we still primarily consider ourselves an Israel specialist.“
Focus on other destinations
However, with the current ceasefire, he hopes travel can resume quickly. To keep the business going, he is focusing on other destinations. “As early as 2024, we began cautiously expanding our portfolio, particularly in the area of memorial tours to Poland and Christian pilgrimages to Greece, Malta, Egypt, and other Mediterranean countries. Despite these expansions, we still primarily consider ourselves an Israel specialist.”
Gerd Müller is doing the same. Diesenhaus Ram has added Malta, Sicily, Oman, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ireland, Cyprus, and Transylvania to its portfolio. “We are expanding to regions where our employees are familiar. That’s why I would also like to add an Asian destination, as I know my way around there. But it has to fit in with our story.” The new destinations, such as Malta, have already been well received.
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Diesenhaus Ram has another mainstay: the team acts as both a tour operator and a travel agency, arranging flight tickets and cruises, among other services. “None of this can replace trips to Israel,” Müller continues. But business is going quite well, at least. The plan is for the new destinations to remain in the portfolio long term. “You have to do it right. It’s not worth it just to bridge the gap.”
“After all, the whole thing involves a lot of effort. “That’s why we don’t offer individual trips to other countries,” Riedl says. “While we can fall back on established databases for Israel, we have to laboriously obtain, check, and prepare a lot of information for new destinations. Creating reliable programs and documents is time-consuming and requires additional resources.”
Israel specialists remain optimistic despite the great uncertainty surrounding the situation.
Israel specialists remain optimistic
Despite everything, the specialists are robust and confident. “We’re missing out on a lot of business with Israel,” says Müller. “Of course, we hope that things will calm down soon and that tourism will recover. When things start up again, we will have direct access to several hundred hotels in Israel. However, we won’t take any trips as long as travellers could be at risk there.”
“Despite the current situation, we are optimistic about the future,” says Riedl. “We hope that the fighting will contribute to a more peaceful and secure Middle East in the medium and long term. With over 40 years of experience in Israeli tourism, we have weathered many crises before. Our resilience and our connection with the country and its people give us confidence.”
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