American travel agents visit Israel in push for postwar tourism

(JNS) — A group of American travel agents visited Israel this week in a push for postwar tourism following a period of regional turbulence that reduced travel to the Holy Land.

The weeklong trip, sponsored by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, comes as the number of visitors from the United States began to pick up this summer, just ahead of next month’s much-anticipated return to Tel Aviv by two major US legacy carriers.

“People do want to come; it’s just the fear factor of ‘Oh my God, it’s the Middle East,’” said Sima Pagash, a Los Angeles travel agent at Destinations and Adventures. “Being her...