Tourism and Normalization—The Case of Abraham Accords

The study aims to explore the implementation of the Israeli-Arab normalization with focus on the role of tourism. It discusses the connection between tourism and Israel's relations with Morocco, Bahrain, and the UAE since the signing of the Abraham Accords arguing that tourism positively influenced the development of normalization. Using the theories of tourism diplomacy and cultural diplomacy, the results show that (1) governments use tourism as a political mechanism to promote relations; (2) the Moroccan case showed that an emotional tourism campaign is used to promote tourism; (3) the UAE's case shows that its unique version of moderate Islam has strengthened local conditions to create a more welcoming environment for Israeli tourists; (4) the analysis demonstrates the importance of tourism in the context of Israel-Arab relations. This carries important policy implications according to which tourism can play a major tool to improve Israels relations with Arab countries.