More than 400,000 Israelis are expected to fly abroad during the Passover holiday, with a total of 1.2 million outgoing and incoming passengers expected to pass through Ben-Gurion International Airport during April.

Ben-Gurion International Airport – Photo: Reuters

The top destinations for Israeli travelers will be the United States, France, England, Russia, Italy and Germany. Other popular destinations include Thailand, Greece — with a 30 percent increase in Israelis traveling there — and Turkey, which is expecting a dramatic increase of the number of Israeli tourists to triple, despite travel warnings being in effect.

“One of the reasons for the 25% increase in people flying abroad is the many low-cost airlines, which operate some 150 flights each week,” said Deputy CEO of Ophir Tours Yehuda Zafrani.

Zafrani went on to say that he anticipates some 20,000 Israelis will fly to Turkey this month.

“There was always a travel warning for Turkey, even at the peak in 2008, but the flights are influenced by the political situation, not the security situation,” he said. “We expect a quarter of a million Israelis to fly to Turkey before the year is over, if relations warm up.”

According to Israir Vice President of Sales and Services Gil Stav, “we are seeing a number of locations where you can order a vacation package over the Passover holiday for a relatively low price because of an increase in the frequency of flights to those places during those dates. For example, spending the holiday in Rome, for three nights, including flight and a three-star hotel in a central location with breakfast, could cost $435.”

Prices rise starting after the first night of Passover. According to sales manager Vered Schwartz, of travel agency Diesenhaus, the difference in vacation package prices from before to after the first night of the holiday could be as much as $400.

Ahead of the Passover holiday, Ben-Gurion International Airport will set up a children’s activity center called “Terminal Land” near the duty-free store. Terminal Land will remain open throughout the holiday to keep children busy while they wait in the crowded airport with their families before flying abroad.

Children will be able to enjoy interactive games with flight attendants, touch-screen games and other activities for free.

View original Israel Hayom publication at: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=16627