To many in Israel, the coronavirus threat may appear to be fading but the changes and demands placed on travelers continues to have a long-lasting impact.
Although 73% of Israelis have made plans to fly abroad in the coming year, of the group who do not wish to venture abroad, 37% have stated that it is because of the excessive bureaucracy that flying now involves - tests, permits, and health declaration forms.
An additional 43% of those who do not intend to fly have indicated that staying put was for economic reasons, an increase of 10% since February.
Another 9% of people said that they were afraid that Israel's borders could close again without warning as occurred in the winter.
Although unafraid of the borders closing, some 16% of people said they fear having to enter two weeks of self isolation when they return to Israel. Vaccinated Israelis do not have to quarantine upon arrival from most countries but there are a few, such as India, which require all Israelis, vaccinated or not, to isolate when they return.
However, 73% of people expressing interest in flying abroad is an increased percentage compared to October 2020 when only 41% of people said they intended to fly abroad in the next year.
Of those who said that they do wish to fly, 53% expressed interest in flying to western Europe which was also the most popular destination pre-COVID-19. Only 12% of people said they wanted to fly to the UAE and Bahrain, compared to the 41% who said that they hoped to fly there last October.
Besides Western Europe, the most popular destinations for Israelis hoping to fly are Greece, eastern Europe, North America, the Far East, and Turkey.
Only 5% of people expressed an interest in flying to South America.
According to Dror Bahat, the Vice President of Marketing for Pelephone, Yes, and Bezeq International, a willingness to spend time abroad again "indicates a rapid recovery from the pandemic, but not yet a recovery of the Israeli economy, when almost half of those who do not [want to] fly abroad will not do so due to economic considerations."
The survey recorded the responses of over 500 Israelis over the age of 18.