one destination that still succeeds in attracting more and more passengers: Greece

The demand for vacations abroad in the summer months is expected to decrease by about 30% due to the war, the reduction in the supply of flights, and security and economic concerns. But there is one destination that still succeeds - even in the current period - in attracting more and more passengers: Greece.
According to the report of the activities of the Israel Defense Forces, last June 233,000 passengers visited Greece, compared to 131,000 passengers who traveled to the USA simultaneously. During the war months, and especially in March and April, the USA was the most sought-after destination for flights - Which significantly increased the prices of flights.
Although Greece has always been a popular holiday destination among Israelis, compared to most other destinations, Greece managed to significantly increase its share of activity compared to last year: in June of this year, it stood at 16.38% of the overall passenger rate, compared to 10.48% at the same time last year.
The Airports Authority (Rashat) estimates that Greece will continue to dominate the list of holiday destinations abroad, with approximately 80 aircraft movements (round trip) per day. In total, during the summer, there will be approximately 4,250 aircraft movements from Bulgaria to Greece and back.
Greece and its islands, such as Rhodes, Kemakim and Kos - are close to Israel, the prices of plane tickets are accessible and living there is relatively cheap and friendly. Also, it is possible to return from it relatively quickly to Israel in the event of a worsening of the security situation.
In addition, the Turkish boycott also contributed to the attractiveness of Greece. Last year, Turkey was at the top of the list of holiday destinations among Israelis, but the Turkish Airlines boycott of Israel wiped the country off the map, giving Greece an advantage.
While many major companies, such as Wise Air, Ryanair, Lufthansa United and others, are reducing the scope of their operations in Israel - it is precisely the foreign companies that fly to Greece that are currently increasing their operations and benefiting from this, as can be seen in the reports of the Israel Defense Forces.
For example, the Greek airline Blue Bird - which was acquired in 2016 by the Israeli Vacation Lines Group - is placed in 12th place in June 2023 in the table of the share of airlines' activity in Israel, with an activity share of 2.13% of the proportion of passengers in Israel, while in June of this year it climbed The company ranked fifth - with an activity share of 4.33%.
Aegean Airlines, the national airline of Greece, has also increased its share of operations in Athens. In June 2023, Aegean was in 11th place with an activity share of 2.25% of the passengers in Athens, while in June of this year it jumped to 6th place and increased its share of activity in the National Bank to 3.83%.
Most of the foreign airlines that fly to a variety of destinations in Europe have actually reduced their share of operations in Israel. Wizz Air - whose flight ticket from Israel to Athens in July starts at $188 - decreased in June from an activity share of 9.54% in June 2023 to 7.24% this year, and Ryanair Reduced from a share of 5.48% in June 2023 to 1.97% in 2024.
Apart from the Greek companies, Israeli companies such as Israir, Arkia and Al Al are also benefiting from the situation, and have increased the number of flights to Greece due to demand - but not only to it. Since the beginning of the war, the Israeli companies have benefited from an increase in the share of their activity in Israel due to the cancellation and reduction of the routes of the foreign airlines to a variety of destinations in Europe and the USA, which makes the Israeli companies the default for many passengers.
Ilan Shalu, Vice President of Vacation Lines Group, owners of Blue Bird: "Greece rose a lot because Turkey and the Maldives, which were vacation destinations, were closed to the Israelis. Greece during the war branded itself as a safe, familiar and close destination that embraces Israelis and creates security. There is also a high availability of flights and the possibility of quickly returning to Israel. All this made it a kind of magnet for family vacations. Destinations like Rhodes, Kemaki, Kos, Mykonos and Athens are the top destinations in Greece. I estimate that there is an increase of about 30%-40% in the number of flights there."
Shalu also adds that "Blue Bird is an Israeli-owned Greek airline that returned to operations in Israel on February 1st, and created trust with the Israeli audience, this is in contrast to companies like Rainier and EasyJet that came and went on short notice, and created a feeling that it is not safe to book through them .
"Blue Bird concentrates on nearby destinations, especially Greece. We increased the aircraft fleet from three last year to five this year. The reason for increasing the fleet is demand and strategic thinking. We are constantly analyzing the situation and seek to produce a mix of flight quantity, high availability, and varied flight hours and this creates traffic in bookings This proves that there is a boom, and if there is no sudden worsening of security, then this summer there will be a record number of flights to Greece, and the country will continue to be number one in Israel."