Jewish, Muslim, Christian Jerusalem Old City vendors say reduced tourism is harming businesses

Shopkeepers in Jerusalem's Old City, across Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Armenian quarters, report significant business declines due to reduced tourism over the past three years. Vendors attribute this slump to a shortage of flights, high airfares, and security concerns following recent conflicts. Eitan, a Jewish Quarter shop owner, stated, "The day-to-day tourism is horrible. Not too many people." Similarly, Dia from the Arab Quarter and Hassan from the Christian Quarter described business as "very, very slow" and "zero" respectively. Garo Sandrouni of the Armenian Quarter noted that despite recent expectations for improvement, tourism remains low, with high flight costs being a primary barrier. Tourism experts and the Tourism Ministry Director-General, Michael Izhakov, confirm that limited flight accessibility is the main bottleneck, with Izhakov stating, "When there are no flights, there is no tourism." The ministry is working to increase flights and promote tourism, including discussions with the US Ambassador to expand direct US-Israel flights.