Israelis are already imagining a new tourist destination, with luxury hotels in the Emirates, but interesting possibilities have also opened up for incoming tourism.

Dr. Eran Ketter, a consultant and a researcher in tourism in the Tourism and Hotel Management Department at Kinneret Academic College, said. “The establishment of relations between Israel and the UAE is not just a political and diplomatic opportunity, but also an aviation and tourism opportunity. Emirates has a wide range of destinations in Asia, including in India, China and Japan, that facilitate improved access to main business centers. For tourism and leisure, Emirates can offer convenient, fast access to main touring and vacation destinations such as Thailand, India, Vietnam, the Philippines, and the Maldives. All this by flying eastwards, without the need for roundabout routes via regional airports such as Istanbul and Frankfurt that serve Israel today.”

“Another way in which the establishment of relations is important,” says Ketter, “is in

opening the Israeli market to incoming tourism from the Gulf states, thereby starting to

realize Israel’s potential for Muslim pilgrimage tourism, known as ‘halal tourism’. Israel has

several important tourist sites, such as Jerusalem, Acre, and Hebron, social and cultural ties

with the Islamic world, and tourism infrastructure well adapted to tourists whose language

is Arabic and who strictly observe Islamic law.”

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