ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

Hungary is reopening its doors to Israeli tourists who present a negative COVID-19 test result, Visit Hungary announced on Monday.

Israelis, vaccinated or unvaccinated, will be able to visit Hungary, provided they produce a negative COVID-19 test taken 72 hours prior to arriving in the European state.

Visit Hungary is a subsidiary organization of the official state-sponsored Hungary Tourism Agency.

According to Visit Hungary's director of Israeli business development, inbound tourism from Israel was the 10th largest in Hungary.

Hungary, whose most coronavirus restrictions were lifted, suffered only 35 new infections in the past 24 hours, according to Hungary's government coronavirus website. 
Israel, on the other hand, is in the midst of a fourth wave, having registered over 6,000 cases on Monday, marking the highest number since the peak of the pandemic in February.

"This is a key step back to normalcy, we are waiting for Israelis to return to our streets," said deputy CEO of Visit Hungary Prozina Zakarias.

"Israel is an important strategic market in our efforts to revive Hungary's tourism industry following the COVID-19 pandemic," Zakarias added.

Hungary, similarly to Israel, has announced they will offer the option of taking up a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Prime Minister Orban also stated he will make coronavirus vaccines mandatory for all healthcare workers.
While Israelis are now being offered a way out of Israel by Hungary, Thousands of relatives of Israelis are still struggling to acquire permits to enter Israel, as the government increased restrictions and regulations for those entering the country.