War effects on tourism industry: the first year of the Gaza war

Although wars remain a common phenomenon in the Middle East, there is limited knowledge about the consequences of war on Israel’s tourism industry. Using qualitative methods and elite interviews, this study constructed two categories to analyse the impact of the Gaza war on conflict-zone tourism in Israel from 2023 to 2024. The results show that the Gaza war, as a politically contentious one, played a significant role in reducing tourism to Israel, but there was still a significant flow of volunteering tourists and solidarity visitors. It also shows that domestic tourism remained relatively stable due to several initiatives to encourage tourism.