Abraham Accords Two Years On: Israelis Flock to Dubai, but Where Ar... about:reader?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.haaretz.com%2Fisrael-new...

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Abraham Accords two years on:

Israelis flock to Dubai, but where
are the Emirati tourists?

Hadar Kane

7-9 minutes

In the two years since Israel and the United Arab Emirates signed a
deal normalizing relations, there has been high demand by Israelis
to visit the Gulf nation. However, a relatively low number of
Emiratis have sought to visit Israel, although there hopes were
expressed at the time of the signing.

Thursday marked the two-year anniversary of the signing of the

Abraham Accords, which paved the way for the operation of flights
between Tel Aviv and Dubai. Thanks to Saudi Arabia’s cooperation,
Israeli planes are now able to fly over the Arabian Peninsula,
significantly reducing the travel distances from Ben-Gurion Airport
to a variety of destinations to the east.

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At the signing ceremony, then-President Donald Trump reflected
hopes that the accords would boost Israeli tourism when he said
that they “open[ed] the door for Muslims around the world to visit
the historic sites in Israel and to peacefully pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque
in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam.”

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According to Ben-Gurion Airport reports, more than 268,000

passengers made round-trip trips from Israel to the UAE, making it
the eighth-most popular destination for Israeli travelers. This year,
the UAE is also on track to be among the top 10 destinations for
Israelis; in July, 68,400 Israelis traveled there, and 74,100 in
August.

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Amir Hayek, Israel’s first ambassador to the UAE, says that

“Israelis are definitely coming, and in good numbers. The Emiratis
are not traveling as much to Israel; the numbers right now are not
high. You have to remember that Israel has a population of 9.2
million, while the UAE has only 1.5 million citizens.” In addition to
Emiratis, there are another 8 million non-citizens living in the UAE,
most of them foreign workers.

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Tourists in Tel Aviv.Credit: Hayarkon 48

“Also, Israelis are early adopters, with technology and also with
tourism – Israelis will be the first to buy new gadgets and also the
first to check out a new destination that has opened up, in this case,
Dubai,” Hayek adds. He cites another reason that Israelis have
flocked to the UAE – the Emiratis were relatively quick to lift
coronavirus restrictions on flights and tourism.

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“Tourism is important to the UAE and it is very highly developed,”

Hayek says. “They have it all – urban tourism and desert tourism,
resort vacations and major sports events – Formula One races, NBA
games, tennis tournaments and more. There are lots of good hotels
in every price range. It has one of the largest airports in the world.
It’s a major tourist destination, like London or Paris.”

What about the sense of security for female tourists in the Emirates,
where there are discriminatory laws?

“Those are urban legends. Women can go around freely there,

wherever they want. Abu Dhabi is one of the most advanced cities
in the world. More than half of the members of parliament there are

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women, and many women hold top positions in business.”

Tourists take photos at the top of Burj Khalifa in Dubai, last

month.Credit: OLIVIER MORIN - AFP

Sought-after tourists

Regarding tourism from the UAE to Israel, Hayek says: “We

certainly need to think about how to bring Emirati tourists to Israel.
We need to think about what type of tourism they want and what
they want to see, and build tourism packages that suit them. Older
people want to visit Jerusalem and Nazareth. Younger folks want to
see Tel Aviv. Together with the Tourism Ministry and the Emiratis,
we will have to build packages for each kind. We are only at the
beginning.”

Does the Israeli-Palestinian conflict affect Emiratis’ desire to come

here?

“The conflict is not a factor. The Emiratis make decisions based on

what they understand to be in their interests. Israel needs to be able
to enter into international projects that will attract the people to
come here. We need to get to higher tourism numbers from the
Emirates to Israel, and we will.”

Israeli Ambassador to the UAE Amir Hayek.Credit: Smadar Kafri

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A Tourism Ministry survey published in September 2020 concluded

that once the pandemic passed, 100,000 Emirati tourists could
potentially be brought to Israel each year. Emirati tourists are
particularly attractive to the tourism industry. On average, an
Emirati tourist spends anywhere from $2,000 to $20,000 per trip.
But the numbers in the ministry’s forecast are very far from this.

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Tourism Ministry data show that since the accords were signed two
years ago, a total of 3,600 tourists from the UAE, Morocco and
Bahrain have come to Israel. The ministry attributes the low figure
in part to the fact that it wasn’t until March that Israel partially
reopened to foreign tourists.

The Tourism Ministry says it is working to promote tourism from

the three countries in various ways, including participation in
tourism fairs and creating tourism packages combining Israel and
the UAE, as large tourism agencies have begun selling such
packages to tourists in North America.

The visa crisis and security guard crisis

After relations were established between the UAE and Israel, many
tensions and challenges remained. Despite the accords and the
opening of the skies between the two countries in October 2020, the
question of visas was not resolved and there were instances in
which Israelis who landed in Dubai were denied entry for hours.
The visa crisis was resolved in October 2021, when a visa exemption
went into effect for travelers flying for leisure purposes for up to 90
days.

There were also problems regarding the security arrangements on

the Israeli airlines El Al, Arkia and Israir. The airlines complained
that Israel and the UAE had failed to reach agreements on security
for Israeli flights out of Dubai’s, and the number of flights was

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reduced as a result. The crisis was resolved, for now, with

intervention by government officials, who came up with a
temporary solution.

Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli at the launch of the Tel

Aviv-Dubai flight route, this year.Credit: Sivan Farag

“There are discussions about security on flights,” Hayek says. “I can

tell you that both countries are working to resolve the matter.
Sometimes there are disagreements, as happens with a lot of
countries, but this is a country that is friendly to Israel and this can
be seen in every area.”

Last year, several airlines from the UAE – Etihad Airways, WizzAir
Abu Dhabi, FlyDubai and Emirates – announced that they would
operate routes between Dubai and Tel Aviv. Some are already flying
between the two cities.

Positive relations between the UAE and Israel are also evident in
the business arena. “The trade figures between the countries are
very high,” Hayek says. “In 2021, we hit $1.22 billion in trade
between the two countries. In the first seven months of 2022, we
have already exceeded that figure and are up to $1.47 billion.”

He notes that “the Emirates are currently in the 19th spot out of the
126 countries with which Israel does trade, and within a few years I
believe we will be in the top 10. The trade involves agriculture and
agricultural technology, medical and communication equipment,
food tech, water, and joint investments in high tech.”

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