In January 2020 543,000 Israelis departed the country - an increase of 10%

In January 2020, 543,000 Israelis departed abroad - an increase of 10% compared to January 2019. 4% of Israelis departures in January were of Israeli residents living abroad who came for a homeland visit. In January, 29,000 Israeli departures were by land (to Egypt and Jordan). The number of flights abroad was 496,000 - most of them, ie 466,000, departed only once during the month.
Also in the other direction, ie tourists entering Israel, an increase was recorded - 308.5 thousand tourists entered Israel in January, an increase of 8% compared to January last year. According to estimates by the Ministry of Tourism, the estimated volume of tourists' visits to Israel in January is about NIS 1.5 billion.
In a four-year span, the number of tourists visiting Israel in January doubled: in January 2016, the lows of recent years, 165,000 tourists visited Israel. The Ministry of Tourism concluded 2019 with an entry of 4.55 million tourists to Israel - a record number that should be aspirated to break even in 2020.

 Closing the "Dov" airport in Tel Aviv has caused real damage to Arkia and is unable to expand into the international flight market. The almost impossible competition with the Lao Coast companies puts Arkia into an ongoing crisis. Yaron Zlicha, head of the Arkia employees holding company, is trying to explain the state of the company, as part of the recovery plan we decided to reduce activity on losing lines and develop new profitable lines that better fit Arkia's character as a leading holiday company in Israel. Naturally, the development of the new destinations takes some time, but I am convinced that together the new management will renew its face and once again lead the vacation tourism market in Israel. "

January 2020 In the summary of passenger traffic in Ben Gurion Airport continues to signal the strength of the Low Coast companies on international flights from Israel. About 101,000 passengers, and Izzy Jet, the longest-running Low Coast company in Israel, rank second after El Al and as the strong foreign company - with around 104,000 passengers.
January is indeed a weak month in tourism, but reflects the change the Israeli airline has undergone - underpinning the status of foreign low-cost airlines: the three companies occupy a 20% share of passenger traffic in January. El Al is also expanding its passenger traffic this month: The company has flown about 377,000 passengers and grew by about 6% compared to January 2019.
Not only are Low Coast companies growing - Turkish Airlines is ranked fifth in passenger traffic with 85.6 thousand passengers and an 18% increase; United Airlines grew 23% to traffic of about 60,000 passengers.
The one who presented an impressive figure is Israir, which has grown by an impressive 97% to traffic of 41.2 thousand passengers. Arkia was satisfied with 17.6 thousand passengers, reflecting a 9% decline compared to January last year.
Total passenger traffic in January totaled 1.58 million passengers - up 10.3% compared to international passenger traffic in January 2019.
Of this number, Israeli companies - El Al, Israir and Arkia - accounted for 27.5%, of which 24% is El Al's share, 2.6% of Israir's share, and Arkia with 1.11% of the total passenger traffic.The closure of Sde Dov last July sparked a crisis between Arkia's management and company employees, which numbered some 700 employees. Following the closure of the Tel Aviv field, Avi Nakash, who served as chairman of Arkia, announced to the workers that the company would be forced to lay off about half of them. 30% of the company's shares, partnering with the brothers Joe, Raffi and Avi Nakash's Jordash holding company, will soon sign an agreement between the parties, including a cut in workers' wages and a streamlining plan, after 120 of the company's employees, including pilots and air crews , Were recently fired.

Arkia said in response: "Arkia is paying great attention to improving the Ramon Ben Gurion Airport for the benefit of Eilat's customers and residents. At the same time it continues to fly successfully to the new destinations in India and to a host of international destinations. In fact, Arkia operates 56 international flights in February 2020, compared with 70 in February 2019. The discrepancy is due to the discontinuation of flights to Bangkok. The flight map increases significantly from March into the spring with a host of old and new tourist destinations. "
As mentioned, the company ran into difficulties when it failed to return competition to the activities of the Low Coast companies - an activity that grows every year against dozens of flights to various destinations in Europe. In addition, it has failed in the distant lines such as the recently closed Bangkok line. All of this in light of the blow suffered by the company with the closing of Sde Dov last July and plummeting demand for flights to Eilat, a market that I will hold 70% of.
The company's February-March flight schedule is almost completely empty of international flights. Except for a few recent flights on the lines to Goa and Cochin in India, flights to notable destinations in Europe cannot be found. Most flights only resume towards the end of March and before Passover.