The reports coming in from tour groups around America are giving us a gloomy prediction of tourism in Israel this year. The numbers of tourists making plans to visit the Holy Land are down significantly, and that’s really sad.
Yes, there’s a lot of terrorism in the world these days. Paris has been under attack. ISIS roams across Iraq and Syria and takes credit for the bloodshed of innocent people in any part of the world, whether they had anything to do with it or not. In Israel, a few knife-carrying idiots have been charging gun-carrying soldiers. No kidding, that’s all very unsettling.
Never mind that America has had incidents just as frightening in the past few years. School shootings, theater massacres, drive-by shootings … it’s not like it’s safe to stay put in the USA!
Here are the five best reasons to go to Israel this year. If you’ve been letting fear keep you from signing up for a great trip? At least read this before you make up your mind.
- Groups are smaller this year. When tourism numbers go down, that’s a good thing for the tourists who actually go to Israel. Crowds are smaller, lines are shorter and the usual great hospitality for guests is multiplied many times over. Any tourist going to Israel in 2016 is going to have an incredible trip!
- It’ll be more expensive next year. Noticed the lower prices at the gas pump this year? Same thing holds true for the big airplane that will take us to Israel. That means our tour costs are down. I’ve watched the price of Israel trips increase every year for the past 20 years. Just as you can count on paying more for gasoline in the near future, you can also bet it’ll cost more for the trip of a lifetime whenever you get around to it.
- It’s a great year to show your support for the safest country in the Middle East. All around Israel, countries are dealing with internal turmoil. In the meantime, Israel has stood strong as America’s best ally in the area and the Middle East’s strongest force in the fight against terrorism. When Americans visit Israel, there’s a spirit of solidarity that’s hard to explain. With numbers down in 2016, this spirit of friendship will be intensified. And by the way, tourists feel incredibly safe in Israel, no matter what CNN is showing on TV.
- The longer you put this off, the longer you’ll have to wait to discover the very best way to bring your Bible to life. All those comments you’ve heard from travelers who called a trip to Israel the “trip of a lifetime?” They weren’t kidding. When they talked about “never reading the Bible the same way again?” They said things like that because it is true. If you could go this year … why put it off?
- If God has called you to do something, never let fear control your future. This is true across the board. If you’re dating a person you’d like to marry, fear will keep you from the honeymoon. If you’re thinking about changing professions, fear will keep you in a job you don’t really like. If you’re thinking about going to Israel? Fear will keep you home when you could have had an experience you’ll talk about the rest of your life. So tell fear to take a hike. And then hike the ancient paths with us!
PS – We’ve had six travelers sign up for trips in the past week. We’re approaching a deadline in the next two weeks for our two May trips to Israel. We can still take travelers after this first deadline, but we can’t guarantee the same price. Have questions or are you simply ready to go? Contact us at pastorandycook@gmail.com!