Korean American tour companies are canceling Jerusalem pilgrimage tours after the Department of State raised its travel warning for the region due to the Israeli-Palestinian war.
“Terrorist groups, lone-actor terrorists, and other violent extremists continue plotting possible attacks in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza. Terrorists and violent extremists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and local government facilities,” the State Department said on October 14, raising the travel warning to Level 3 for Israel and the West Bank and Level 4 for Gaza.
Travel warnings are categorized into four levels of risk, with Level 3 recommending that travelers reconsider traveling to the area. Level 4 is a travel ban for areas of heightened risk.
In response, Korean American travel companies in the Los Angeles area are canceling tours to Israel and offering refunds.
Samho Tours has canceled its Israel tour that was scheduled to depart on October 16 and 24th. The tour package was to travel through three countries: Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. “We refunded a total of 92 people’s tour packages. As each airline has different rules for refunding flight fares, we are monitoring the situation and updating daily,” said Samho Tours.
Pureun Tour said, “We have two tours around Egypt and Dubai, but we have canceled the Egypt tour. We have fully refunded the tour fee and credited the airfare. We are temporarily suspending sales of these areas.”
Four Seasons Tour and Travel has also temporarily suspended its Israel pilgrimage tours. The company said, “We have canceled all air and land tours and started the refund process for 28 people who were scheduled to depart on October 25 and 32 people on November 17. We have decided to suspend the Israel tour until it is completely safe. Some Korean Americans have also switched to the 10-day Camino de Santiago for March 2024.”
Some travel companies are monitoring the situation and planning to respond.
Aju Travel & Tours said, “Our Israel tour is scheduled for February 14th, 2024, and we will monitor the situation and decide whether to proceed or cancel. The Egypt tour, which departs on the same day, will proceed with a confirmed departure, and the Israel-Jordan tour will be decided later depending on the situation.”
Mire Travel said, “The company is very worried about the situation in Israel. We have a pilgrimage tour to Israel scheduled for the 28th of November, but we think we will have to cancel it. There is still more than a month left, so we are keeping an eye on the situation.”
Meanwhile, beaches in Tel Aviv and the Old City of Jerusalem were reportedly deserted by tourists, according to Reuters.
BY NAKI PARK, JUNHAN PARK [naki@koreadaily.com]
