Travel advisors may not currently be booking trips to Israel for many of their clients, but some are showing their support for the country through visits of their own.
Dane Steele Green, owner of Steele Luxury Travel in New York City, began booking trips to Israel shortly after Oct. 7 to bring people home.
After seeing what was happening, he posted on social media and offered to help those trapped there.
“Rabbis, heads of Jewish organizations started calling me, and within a few hours there was an incredible, naturally born network of influential people in the community who needed someone to help people escape. “He said. “I didn’t sleep for a week. This network was built on people doing their best.”
Dane Steele Green, owner of Steele Luxury Travel in Asbury Park, N.J., picks fruit in Israel in December. Source: Dane Steel Green
Green wanted to do more. He launched “Operation IsraelSteele” and used airline points to fly friends from Israel to New York or Mexico.
“When they showed up, they were destroyed,” he said. “And by the time they leave, I feel better and ready to go.
Mr. Green traveled to Israel in person in early December to feed Israeli soldiers and pick fruit from fields that have been attacked by communities near Gaza, many of whose farmers have fled, been killed or kidnapped. He also helped donate apartments and houses for families in destroyed kibbutzim to move into.
“For me, the important thing was to show support by pouring money into the country, and that’s what I did,” he said.
Green stayed at the Norman Hotel in Tel Aviv, where the hotel staff said it was “absolutely wonderful.”
“They looked after me like their own. It was very touching how grateful they were that I was there.” He added that the hotel was about 30% full at the time. “At first we helped the families, we did everything we could to use facilities and hotel rooms to help. Everybody did that.”
When Green was first approached by an organization offering a package to volunteer in Israel for a fee, she was upset that anyone would try to profit from the conflict.
“I said it wasn’t right to create a revenue stream in this unfortunate situation,” he said.
But he realized this would be a great way to help the travel community in a time when tourism has been decimated. “It's really great. This is how we bring money back. This is how we bring tourism back,” Green said.
Israel is eager for travelers to return.
Joanna Kuflik, director of travel services at luxury travel agency Marchay, was living in Tel Aviv shortly before the Hamas attack. She and her friends joked that in Tel Aviv during the summer, “you hear more English and other languages than Hebrew.”
On their way back to Israel in late January, the friends told Kuflik that they had not heard English on the streets for a long time and that they missed it. “We want people to come back,” they told her.
Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Square was turned into a memorial to murdered Israelis on October 7. Photo credit: Joanna Kuflik
That was the sentiment Kuflik heard from store, restaurant and hotel partners during his 11-day stay. Visitors are slowly returning compared to last year when tourism was at its peak, but “we've definitely taken a big hit,” she said.
Kuflik's January trip had multiple purposes, including visiting friends and family, showing solidarity and volunteering. She spent her time visiting wounded soldiers at Tel HaShomer Hospital, sorting donations for displaced families, and advocating for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
“There is an inherent sadness among people about everything going on in the war right now,” Kuflik said.
Marchay had several customer trips to Israel this year that were postponed. She said some clients are interested in visiting friends or family, while others have expressed interest in solidarity trips and volunteering.
She said Israel's hospitality-focused companies would love to see it. “The whole country and the people want the tourists to come back,” she said.
Kuflik flew with El Al, the only airline currently flying non-stop from the United States to Tel Aviv. She was impressed with the airline's hardware and service. She said hotels in Tel Aviv were open and staffed, along with restaurants and entertainment venues (but some were closing earlier than before the conflict began, she noted).
“It was definitely a difficult and emotional journey, but it was a really important and beautiful journey,” she said. “I think it’s been very rewarding in many ways for people who are interested in the idea of spending time there.”
