With ongoing uncertainty about the viability of trips to Israel and the recent Government of Israel resolution supporting Israel educational travel, the Israel Educational Travel Alliance (IETA) is sharing new field data that show the changing economics of running these programs. The data point to a clear hurdle: while interest in Israel travel remains strong, rising costs, currency swings, limited hotel and flight options, and emergency-related risk are making it harder for providers to run as many trips and serve as many participants as in the past. 

 

“Preserving Israel educational travel, which remains one of the most powerful tools for strengthening Jewish identity and deepening connection to Israel, will require advancing practical solutions that keep high-quality, transformational Israel travel opportunities operationally possible,” said Anna Langer, Executive Director of IETA and Vice President at Jewish Federations of North America. “IETA is working to support financial planning, surface field data, and communicate changing conditions to stakeholders of all types.” 

 

Data shared and collected by IETA from the field shows providers are seeing cumulative cost pressures reaching an average of approximately 75% since 2019, when longer-term operating increases are combined with recent currency shifts. These include a 55% increase in program operating costs since the pre-war and pre-COVID period, compounded by an additional 20%+ cost shock in recent months as the dollar has weakened against the shekel. At the same time, providers that raise funding in U.S. dollars are finding that it does not go as far due to these currency shifts, leading to raised prices, shortened programs, expense reduction, loss absorption, or trip cancellations.  

 

Data released in March also shows that approximately half of all hotels in Israel are closed, limiting available inventory and driving up prices – even while overall tourism has decreased. With airfare remaining expensive and difficult to secure, especially for group travel, providers are paying more while having fewer options and less flexibility. 

 

Emergency risk has now become part of the real cost of running Israel trips. When conflict-related disruptions occur, providers can be left exposed. While organizations with substantial cash on hand can sometimes absorb these challenges, those without that same liquidity often cannot. As a result, access to Israel educational travel increasingly depends on whether providers can carry uninsured risk. 

 

This all comes as many families and participants still want to go. However, the field is losing capacity to meet demand.  

 

“If these conditions continue, the field risks losing some of the range that allows Israel educational travel to reach different participants in different ways,” Langer added. “Mid-sized organizations with specialized approaches often use nationally coordinated programs built through local recruitment around a shared identity, life stage, or experience. Locally rooted trips play a similar role, reaching people who may not otherwise seek out Jewish or Israel experiences. Together, these models connect the experience in Israel to relationships at home and create pathways to deeper engagement after participants return.” 

 

The changing tides in Israel educational travel may push programs toward more standardized models that reduce costs, but they also risk stripping away what makes these experiences memorable and effective. Some providers have already shortened trips, reduced time with Israelis, and cut critical educational staff. The field does not yet know exactly how these changes will affect long-term impact, but it is difficult to imagine that repeated cuts to the relationships, care, and texture of the experience will leave its emotional and educational power unchanged. 

 

Maintaining a strong field will require preserving both scale and range: national programs capable of reaching large numbers of participants, alongside medium-sized and locally rooted experiences that deepen community relationships and engage people who might not otherwise choose to go. IETA will continue working with providers, funders, Federations, government partners, and the Israel travel sector to strengthen financial planning, improve operating conditions, and protect the quality and availability of these transformational experiences.