Travel organizations in contact with Dutch citizens in Israel
The travel association ANVR does not yet have exact figures on how many Dutch nationals are currently in Israel, but given the time of year, there could be quite a few. "Tour operators are feverishly taking stock," a spokeswoman said.
According to ANVR, there are a total of 32 tour operators offering trips to Israel. Better Off Travel is one of them. "They have several groups sitting there. These are located in Jerusalem and are fine," the ANVR spokeswoman explained.
Israel Idoed, which specializes in travel to Israel, has three groups totaling 110 people in Jerusalem. According to director Jo le Poole, his travelers are "calm and relaxed," although they have to stay in their hotels. "That's where it's safest now because you don't know what's going to happen on the street when you go out," he said. One of the groups is expected to return Monday night. Le Poole expects that to succeed for now. One group that was scheduled to leave for Israel Monday afternoon is not leaving, in consultation with ANVR.
According to the ANVR spokeswoman, "quite a few groups" go there around this time. "October and November are pilgrimage months. And next week, the fall vacations begin. We expect travel advisories to be put on orange and then everyone will have to go back," the ANVR spokeswoman continued.
Tour operator TUI announced that it has only four people sitting in Israel. "We are busy on the phone, we have already reached two. They are fortunately doing well," a spokeswoman said. A group of 32 travelers was also scheduled to leave on Saturday. "We were fortunately able to hold them off," the TUI spokeswoman said.
Reporting by ANP