August is the hottest season for tourism, and not only because of the weather. Even though demand by Israelis for overseas vacations is at its peak, it is still not too late for those who have yet to order tickets to find bargains.
One trick to saving a lot of money is to let the kids miss the first couple of days of school, if that's relevant, and book a slightly later return.
The High Holy Days are early this year, with Rosh Hashanah coming just a week after the September 1 start of the school year. As a result, many Israelis may postpone their traditional August vacation this year to September. As for bargains, the savings on booking a vacation from August 29 to September 2, rather than from August 15 to 19, depend on the package. The savings can be as much as two-thirds of the cost in the case of the cheaper package. The average discount is around 30% off more expensive, high-season package.
For example, a typical earlier vacation at a five-star hotel in Eilat costs NIS 4,875, while for the later dates it can be as little as NIS 2,900, or NIS 1,975 less. For locations such as Barcelona the difference is smaller but you can still shave NIS 1,500 off a NIS 8,500 package by flying on the later dates.
Western Europe is not much cheaper
Since Israelis began avoiding Turkey as a travel destination earlier this year vacation prices in popular destinations in Western Europe and in the Mediterranean, such as Rhodes and Crete, have risen 10% to 20% according to Walla Tours CEO Ariel Atias. He pointed out that vacations in most European destinations were already pricier than in Turkey.
Most Israelis want a summer vacation trip that is at least five days, Galit Zakai of Eshet Tours said. "You don't take a family vacation every day and when you do you want it to be a long one," she said.
She noted that bookings for trips abroad are still available, even for the high-season period. Many Israelis have chosen to vacation within the country rather than in Turkey, while others are apparently late deciders who still haven't booked their tickets. That means there is still lots to choose from overseas, Zakai said.
In any case, demand is down about 10% from last summer, she said.
Issta Lines VP Marketing Ronen Carasso said the problems with Turkey and the early Jewish holidays have dampened sales this year. Sounding hopeful, he said that many of those who still haven't decided when to take their vacation may simply choose to wait until the holidays.
The shorter-than-usual gap between the end of summer vacation and the start of the High Holy Days presents some disadvantages to consumers, too. Most years there are good deals to be had in September before Rosh Hashanah, but this year there's no gap.
Israelis traveling abroad during the High Holy Days period, however, can anticipate lower prices than in August. "Summer is an international vacation time, while the High Holy Days mainly draws Israelis," so the demand is lower, said Gilad Brobinsky of Diesenhaus Unitours.
Package deals to Greece and Bulgaria are pretty much the same price in August and in September, while flights to Europe are more expensive in August than in September, Carasso said. But the more expensive Western European vacations are mostly for couples, not families with young children, Zakai noted, and that's another reason why prices do not drop as dramatically in September for such vacations.
Since the target market for vacations in Western Europe is less affected by the summer vacation from school, operators can keep their prices higher off season. It is the family resorts, such as in Greece or Bulgaria, that raise their prices for the summer and then have to offer better deals in the off-season.