AIN Staff

While the normalization of ties between the United Arab Emirates and Israel will no doubt boost religious tourism to Jerusalem&nbsp;and increase&nbsp;pilgrim flows from other Muslim countries,&nbsp;UAE-based businesses have reacted cautiously and tourism development will lag behind efforts to improve in economic ties, making immediate progress on pilgrimage travel unlikely.

 


To date, the only news of an aviation deal to emerge has involved talks to establish direct flights between Tel Aviv and Dubai involving Israeli airline Israir and the UAE’s Habtoor Group. Habtoor chairman Khalaf Al Habtoor on Sunday confirmed that the companies had begun&nbsp;negotiations, according to an Israeli news report.

 


UAE airlines, such as Emirates, Etihad, Flydubai, and Air Arabia, have not made any public statements about forthcoming flights, apparently preferring to obtain further government guidance before making any announcements. Etihad chief executive Tony Douglas confirmed to CNN May 20 that the first-ever Etihad flight arrived in Tel Aviv, carrying medical supplies for the Palestinians.

 


Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque is Islam’s third-holiest shrine and a focus of interest for Muslim visitors from the UAE, who have hitherto never had a chance to visit the site. To the chagrin of Palestinians, Israel would likely control any entry of UAE nationals into the country, via Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport, and&nbsp;therefore will more likely oversee visits to the shrine.

 


According to official figures, Israel saw 4.1 million tourists in 2018, compared with 3.6 million in the previous year. Israeli statistics show that Muslims accounted for 2.4 percent of the arrivals, or around 98,000 people.

 


“We see significant opportunity for growth for Muslim pilgrimage to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, some of which will be direct with local operators,” Philip Cooper, of the UK’s Context Consulting, told AIN. “However, we’d expect a package to be booked from the country of origin with a [domestic] provider, so the [Israeli or Palestinian] operators will&nbsp;benefit [only] indirectly. [These operators] do have an opportunity to [provide] support with other destination services, which we see as the key driver of growth in the wider hospitality and tourism market.”

 


Context Consulting forecast a rise in global halal tourism—that specifically related to travelers of Islamic faith—from 108 million visitors spending $145 billion in 2014&nbsp;to 150 million in 2020.

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