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The marketing manager of Eshet Tours: “It seems that this year because of the advertisements of special offers to Turkey, Israelis are in no great hurry to make reservations too far ahead, but for now we have noticed that we are not speaking about a drastic fall in reservations, just more last minute bookings.

Eshet Tours reported that contrary to the earlier estimates of a 50 percent fall in reservations to Turkey, it is apparent that demand to Turkey is now increasing.  With the start of the school holidays, the Eshet Tours service center reported a large number of reservations to Turkey.  While the forecast is for a significant fall in the number of travelers to Turkey compared to previous years; the actual reduction is only about 15 percent.  It should be noted that according to the data from the Israel Airports Authority, a fall of 27 percent was expected on traffic to Turkey.

Galit Zakai, marketing manager of Eshet Tours reported that each year between 400,000- 500,000 Israelis travel to the Club hotels and from data released by in June this year, an increase of 20 percent was recorded in reservations and departures to Turkey compared to the previous June.

Turkey; reminded Zakai, is one of the five leading holiday destinations for Israelis this summer (based on data from the Israel Airports Authority).  She is also of the opinion that Turkey is a cheap alternative and the best option for a family holiday, balancing cost against value.

She commented that Turks are waiting for the Israelis to arrive. “People there who deal with tourists have been hurt by the events of the past year, starting with the comments of the Turkish Prime Minister and then by the damage caused by the worldwide economic recession which hit tourism from Europe.  They are welcoming us with open arms, this is their livelihood."

Zakai added that an additional reason making Turkey so attractive were the dramatic price cuts to the destination.