department of tourism israel

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Visitor Information in Israel

The Israel Ministry of Tourism maintains Israel Government Tourist Offices (IGTOs) in a number of countries throughout the world. The Ministry of Tourism's website has country-specific information for citizens of the U.S. and Commonwealth countries, as well as for many European countries. It also offers information about maps, special events in Israel, a schedule of conferences and conventions, information about tour groups, and special deals and advice for prospective visitors to Israel. On this website you'll also find the current rates of exchange vis-à-vis the new Israeli shekel.

For additional lively and very useful information, readers in the United States and Canada can contact the Israel Government Tourism Office (IGTO) North American Information Center (tel. 888/77-ISRAEL [477235]; www.goisrael.com). U.S. offices are at 6380 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 1718, Los Angeles, CA 90048 (tel. 323/658-7463 ), and 800 Second Ave., New York, NY 10117 (tel. 212/499-5650 ).

The Jordan Tourism Board's official website  is one of the most efficient in the Middle East. 

Note : This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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The three-year program in Tourism and Lesuire Management comprises three integrated components:

🔸​business  administration – core courses such as marketing, ​finance, accounting, and operations management., 🔸  hospitality management – including food and beverage management, accounting, and finance for the hospitality industry. 🔸  tourism management – including tourism venture development, sociology of tourism, tourism and regional planning, and airline management., in addition to lectures and seminars, students learn from case studies, laboratories, and individual or group projects directly linked to the industry., m.a. - tourism and hotel management, the program is designed for managers or graduate students interested in expanding their academic knowledge and managerial skills in tourism, hospitality, and restaurants, which are of prime importance to the israeli economy., the m.a. program offers a new curriculum of courses taught by experts from academia and leading executives in tourism and hospitality., students can choose between two tracks: a research track with a thesis project and a second track for candidates with an applied orientation., practical training, b.a. students are required to complete a minimum of 1000 hours of supervised practical work at leading hotel and tourism organizations in israel and abroad. these hours may accumulate during the summer or throughout the school year. faculty members closely supervise practical training with regular site visits to monitor student-employer involvement. a suitable training program is also essential in generating employment for graduates. thanks to the cooperation of mr. sol freedman, mr. bernard sillins, ms. jessica sillins, mr. shimmie horn, mr. stuart podolsky, mr. jay podolsky, mr. jay wartski, and several other new york and north carolina hotel owners, some students are eligible to participate in a particular three-month internship program at hotels in manhattan new york and charlotte, nc., graduates of the department enjoy a very high placement rate within all sectors of the hospitality and tourism industry, including hotel sales, marketing, food and beverage, front office, restaurants, event planning, and consulting. many students continue their studies in graduate programs in israel and abroad., the department is closely tied with the industry's leading experts and israel's ministry of tourism., specializations, both undergraduate and graduate students may choose to concentrate on tourism management or hospitality management by selecting courses and practical training components to suit their preference., faculty members are dedicated to the highest quality research, and their articles are published in leading international journals. in addition to departmental collaboration, joint research with other universities is encouraged. graduate students in the school, both at master's and ph.d. levels, pursue research activities in the department., the department's faculty members serve as referees and guest editors and sit on the editorial boards of several journals. the israel ministry of tourism has awarded considerable research grants to promote and encourage the department's innovative work., contact us​​​​​​, prof. amir shani ​.

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Insights on Israel’s future tourism recovery

Tourism has not yet rebounded, and its absence is hurting the entire industry, causing despair, side by side with collapsing businesses..

These troubles have also been felt by other countries

Update April 12, 2024

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Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Travel Advisory

Travel advisory april 11, 2024, see individual summaries.

Updated with information on travel restrictions for U.S. government employees under Chief of Mission security responsibility. 

Do Not Travel To :

• Gaza due to  terrorism and  armed conflict

Reconsider Travel To :

• Israel due to  terrorism  and  civil unrest
• West Bank due to  terrorism  and  civil unrest

Country Summary:  Terrorist groups, lone-actor terrorists and other violent extremists continue plotting possible attacks in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. Terrorists and violent extremists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and local government facilities. Violence can occur in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza without warning.

Some areas have increased risk. Read the  country information page  for additional information on travel to Israel and the West Bank, and Gaza. 

Visit the CDC page for the latest  Travel Health Information  related to your travel.

If you decide to travel to Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.

• Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas .
• Check the most recent Alerts at the  Embassy  website for the latest information on travel in all of these areas.  
• Maintain a high degree of situational awareness and exercise caution at all times, especially at checkpoints and other areas with a significant presence of security forces. 
• Avoid demonstrations and crowds. 
• Follow the instructions of security and emergency response officials. 
• Beware of and report suspicious activities, including unattended items, to local police. 
• Learn the location of the nearest bomb shelter or other hardened shelter. Download the Home Front Command Red Alert application for mobile devices (available on devices within Israel) to receive real time alerts for rocket attacks. 
• Obtain comprehensive travel medical insurance that includes medical evacuation prior to travel. Most travel insurance packages do not cover mental health related illnesses/care.  
• Enroll in the  Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)  to receive Alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency. 
• Follow the Department of State on  Facebook  and  Twitter . 
• Review the  Country Security Report  for Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.  
• Prepare a contingency plan for emergency situations. Review the  Traveler’s Checklist .

Gaza – Do Not Travel

Do not travel due to  terrorism and  armed conflict .

The U.S. government is unable to provide routine or emergency consular services to U.S. citizens in Gaza as U.S. government employees are prohibited from traveling there. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are conducting large-scale military operations in Gaza against Hamas, a U.S. government-designated foreign terrorist organization, which was responsible for the October 7 attack on Israel. As a result of the armed conflict, the security environment within Gaza and on its borders is extremely dangerous and volatile. The pedestrian crossing between Gaza and Israel was damaged on October 7 and remains closed, and the pedestrian crossing between Egypt and Gaza may close without advance notice depending on the security situation. There are sporadic telecommunication and internet outages within Gaza further inhibiting the ability of residents to obtain information. 

Visit our website for  Travel to High Risk Areas .  

If you decide to travel to Gaza:

• Be prepared for an indefinite stay as the crossings between Gaza with Israel and Egypt can close without advance notice and for long periods during times of unrest and armed conflict.
• Have a plan for entering and departing Gaza that does not rely on U.S. government assistance.
• Households with infants and young children should plan for food and supplies, such as diapers and wipes, formula or baby food, and a change of clothing.
• If you take medication, make sure to have at least five days’ worth at any given time – if you can, we encourage enough for two weeks beyond your scheduled trip and have a copy of your prescriptions handy.
• If you use assistive or medical devices that require a power supply, be sure to find backup power or other ways that will sustain your device or equipment during a power outage.
• Draft a will and designate appropriate insurance beneficiaries and/or power of attorney.
• Discuss a plan with loved ones regarding care/custody of children, pets, property, belongings, non-liquid assets (collections, artwork, etc.), funeral wishes, etc.
• Leave DNA samples with your medical provider in case it is necessary for your family to access them.

Please be sure to visit our website for How to Prepare for a Crisis for information that may be helpful. 

Israel – Reconsider Travel

Reconsider travel due to  terrorism and civil unrest .

The security situation remains unpredictable, and U.S. citizens are reminded to remain vigilant and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness as security incidents, including mortar and rocket fire, often take place without warning.

U.S. government employees in Israel under Chief of Mission security responsibility are currently restricted from personal travel to the following locations:

• Within seven miles of the Gaza demarcation line, as well as the cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon;
• Within 2.5 miles of the Lebanese and Syrian borders; and
• Within 1.5 miles of the Israel-Egypt border.

Additional travel restrictions may be imposed on U.S. government employees under Chief of Mission security responsibility, with little to no notice due to increased security issues or threats.

West Bank – Reconsider Travel

U.S. government employees in Israel under Chief of Mission security responsibility are currently restricted from all personal travel to the West Bank, except:

• U.S. government employees can use Routes 1, 90, and 443 at any time. 
• U.S. government employees are permitted personal travel to Jericho. 
• U.S. government employees are permitted daylight travel to: Inn of the Good Samaritan, An-Nabi Musa, Wadi Qelt Nature Preserve, and St. George’s Monastery along Route 1; and Qumran, Kalia Beach, St. Gerasimos/Khogla Monastery, Al Auju, and Qasr al-Yaud baptismal site along Route 90. 

Over the past few months, there has been an increase in settler violence, Israeli military operations, and terrorist attacks.

Additional travel restrictions may be imposed on U.S. government employees under Chief of Mission security responsibility with little to no notice due to increased security issues or threats.

Visit our website for  Travel to High Risk Areas .

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Travel, Tourism & Hospitality

Travel and tourism in Israel - statistics & facts

Impact of the coronavirus (covid-19), economic contribution of the tourism industry, diverse tourist sights, key insights.

Detailed statistics

International visitors in Israel 2016-2022

Number of departures abroad of Israeli citizens from Israel 2014-2022

Number of tourist hotels in Israel 2014-2021

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Current statistics on this topic.

Destinations

Number of visitors to the U.S. from Israel 2011-2022

Share of the GDP of the tourism sector in Israel 2013-2028

Related topics

Recommended.

• COVID-19: impact on the tourism industry worldwide
• Tourism in Tunisia
• Tourism in Morocco
• Outbound tourism in European countries

Recommended statistics

Inbound tourism.

• Basic Statistic International visitors in Israel 2016-2022
• Premium Statistic Number of international tourist arrivals in Israel 2015-2029
• Basic Statistic Tourist arrivals in Israel 2021, by age group
• Basic Statistic Number of tourists from Europe in Israel 2022, by country of citizenship
• Basic Statistic Number of tourists from Asia in Israel 2022, by country of citizenship
• Basic Statistic Number of tourists from the United States in Israel 2018-2022
• Basic Statistic Passengers in cruises in Israel 2014-2022

International visitors in Israel from 2016 to 2022 (in 1,000s)

Number of international tourist arrivals in Israel 2015-2029

Number of international tourist arrivals in Israel from 2015 to 2029 (in millions)

Tourist arrivals in Israel 2021, by age group

Number of tourist arrivals in Israel in 2021, by age group (in 1,000s)

Number of tourists from Europe in Israel 2022, by country of citizenship

Number of European tourists in Israel in 2022, by country of citizenship (in 1,000s)

Number of tourists from Asia in Israel 2022, by country of citizenship

Number of tourists from Asia in Israel as of 2022, by country of citizenship (in 1,000s)

Number of tourists from the United States in Israel 2018-2022

Number of tourists from the United States in Israel from 2018 to 2022 (in 1,000s)

Passengers in cruises in Israel 2014-2022

Number of cruise passengers in Israel from 2014 to 2022 (in 1,000s)

Outbound tourism

• Basic Statistic Number of departures abroad of Israeli citizens from Israel 2014-2022
• Basic Statistic Number of Israelis aged 20-24 years traveling abroad 2015-2022
• Basic Statistic Number of Israelis aged 0-19 years traveling abroad 2015-2022
• Basic Statistic Number of Israelis aged 25-59 years traveling abroad 2015-2022
• Basic Statistic Number of Israelis aged 60-64 years traveling abroad 2015-2022
• Basic Statistic Number of Israelis aged 65 years and older traveling abroad 2015-2022
• Basic Statistic Number of visitors to the U.S. from Israel 2011-2022

Number of departures abroad of Israeli citizens from Israel from 2014 to 2022 (in 1,000s)

Number of Israelis aged 20-24 years traveling abroad 2015-2022

Number of Israelis aged 20-24 years traveling abroad from 2015 to 2022 (in 1,000s)

Number of Israelis aged 0-19 years traveling abroad 2015-2022

Number of Israelis aged 0-19 years traveling abroad from 2015 to 2022 (in 1,000s)

Number of Israelis aged 25-59 years traveling abroad 2015-2022

Number of Israelis aged 25-59 years traveling abroad from 2015 to 2022 (in 1,000s)

Number of Israelis aged 60-64 years traveling abroad 2015-2022

Number of Israelis aged 60-64 years traveling abroad from 2015 to 2022 (in 1,000s)

Number of Israelis aged 65 years and older traveling abroad 2015-2022

Number of Israelis aged 65 years and older traveling abroad from 2015 to 2022 (in 1,000s)

Number of visitors to the United States from Israel from 2011 to 2022

• Basic Statistic International air traffic of passengers in Israel 2022
• Basic Statistic International air traffic of passengers with Israeli airlines in Israel 2022
• Basic Statistic Revenue of El Al Airlines in Israel 2021-2022
• Basic Statistic International air traffic of passengers with airlines from the US in Israel 2022
• Basic Statistic International air traffic of passengers with German airlines in Israel 2022
• Basic Statistic International air traffic of passengers with French airlines in Israel 2022
• Basic Statistic International air traffic of passengers with Spanish airlines in Israel 2022

International air traffic of passengers in Israel 2022

International air traffic of passengers in Israel from January to June 2022 (in 1,000s)

International air traffic of passengers with Israeli airlines in Israel 2022

International air traffic of passengers with Israeli airlines in Israel from January to June 2022 (in 1,000s)

Revenue of El Al Airlines in Israel 2021-2022

Revenue of El Al Airlines in Israel in 2nd quarter 2021 and 2nd quarter 2022 (in million U.S. dollars)

International air traffic of passengers with airlines from the US in Israel 2022

International air traffic of passengers with airlines from the United States (US) in Israel from January to June 2022 (in 1,000s)

International air traffic of passengers with German airlines in Israel 2022

International air traffic of passengers with German airlines in Israel from January to June 2022 (in 1,000s)

International air traffic of passengers with French airlines in Israel 2022

International air traffic of passengers with French airlines in Israel from January to June 2022 (in 1,000s)

International air traffic of passengers with Spanish airlines in Israel 2022

International air traffic of passengers with Spanish airlines in Israel from January to June 2022 (in 1,000s)

Economic contribution and tourism expenditure

• Premium Statistic Share of the GDP of the tourism sector in Israel 2013-2028
• Premium Statistic Absolute economic contribution of tourism in Israel 2014-2029
• Premium Statistic Expenditure on international tourism in Israel 2014-2029
• Premium Statistic Expenditure per capita on international tourism in Israel 2001-2029
• Premium Statistic International tourism receipts per capita in Israel 2001-2029

Share of the GDP of the tourism sector in Israel from 2013 to 2028

Absolute economic contribution of tourism in Israel 2014-2029

Absolute economic contribution of tourism in Israel from 2014 to 2029 (in million U.S. dollars)

Expenditure on international tourism in Israel 2014-2029

Expenditure on international tourism in Israel from 2014 to 2029 (in million U.S. dollars)

Expenditure per capita on international tourism in Israel 2001-2029

Expenditure per capita on international tourism in Israel from 2001 to 2029 (in U.S. dollars)

International tourism receipts per capita in Israel 2001-2029

International tourism receipts per capita in Israel from 2001 to 2029 (in U.S. dollars)

Accommodations

• Basic Statistic Number of tourist hotels in Israel 2014-2021
• Basic Statistic Number of tourist hotels in Israel 2021, by district
• Basic Statistic Number of foreign guests in tourist hotels in Israel 2014-2021
• Basic Statistic Number of Israeli guests in tourist hotels in Israel 2014-2021
• Basic Statistic Number of rural tourism guest rooms in Israel 2014-2021
• Basic Statistic Total revenue of hotel services in Israel 2014-2021
• Basic Statistic Occupancy rate of bed places in hotels in Israel 2017-2022
• Basic Statistic Occupancy rate of rooms in hotels in Tel Aviv in Israel 2014-2022

Number of tourist hotels in Israel from 2014 to 2021

Number of tourist hotels in Israel 2021, by district

Number of tourist hotels in Israel in 2021, by district

Number of foreign guests in tourist hotels in Israel 2014-2021

Number of foreign guests in tourist hotels in Israel from 2014 to 2021 (in 1,000s)

Number of Israeli guests in tourist hotels in Israel 2014-2021

Number of Israeli guests in tourist hotels in Israel from 2014 to 2021 (in 1,000s)

Number of rural tourism guest rooms in Israel 2014-2021

Number of rural tourism guest rooms in Israel from 2014 to 2021

Total revenue of hotel services in Israel 2014-2021

Total revenue of hotel services in Israel from 2014 to 2021 (in million Israeli shekels)

Occupancy rate of bed places in hotels in Israel 2017-2022

Occupancy rate of bed places in hotels in Israel from 2017 to 2022

Occupancy rate of rooms in hotels in Tel Aviv in Israel 2014-2022

Occupancy rate of rooms in hotels in Tel Aviv in Israel from 2014 to 2022

National parks

• Basic Statistic Number of visits to historical sites in Israel 2017-2022
• Basic Statistic Number of visits to historical sites in Israel 2022, by district
• Basic Statistic Number of visits to recreation sites in Israel 2017-2022
• Basic Statistic Number of visits to recreation sites in Israel 2022, by district

Number of visits to historical sites in Israel 2017-2022

Number of visits to historical sites in Israel from 2017 to 2022 (in 1,000s)

Number of visits to historical sites in Israel 2022, by district

Number of visits to historical sites in Israel in 2022, by district (in 1,000s)

Number of visits to recreation sites in Israel 2017-2022

Number of visits to recreation sites in Israel from 2017 to 2022 (in 1,000s)

Number of visits to recreation sites in Israel 2022, by district

Number of visits to recreation sites in Israel in 2022, by district (in 1,000s)

Popular tourist sights

• Basic Statistic Number of visits to Caesarea in Israel 2019-2022
• Basic Statistic Number of visits to En Gedi in Israel 2019-2022
• Basic Statistic Number of visits to the Banias springs in Israel 2019-2022
• Basic Statistic Number of visits to Zippori in Israel 2019-2022
• Basic Statistic Number of visits to Palmahim in Israel 2019-2022
• Basic Statistic Number of visits to the Mizpe Ramon Visitors Center in Israel 2019-2022

Number of visits to Caesarea in Israel 2019-2022

Number of visits to Caesarea in Israel from 2019 to 2022 (in 1,000s)

Number of visits to En Gedi in Israel 2019-2022

Number of visits to En Gedi in Israel from 2019 to 2022 (in 1,000s)

Number of visits to the Banias springs in Israel 2019-2022

Number of visits to the Banias springs in Israel from 2019 to 2022 (in 1,000s)

Number of visits to Zippori in Israel 2019-2022

Number of visits to Zippori in Israel from 2019 to 2022 (in 1,000s)

Number of visits to Palmahim in Israel 2019-2022

Number of visits to Palmahim in Israel from 2019 to 2022 (in 1,000s)

Number of visits to the Mizpe Ramon Visitors Center in Israel 2019-2022

Number of visits to the Mizpe Ramon Visitors Center in Israel from 2019 to 2022 (in 1,000s)

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Israel’s tourism industry remains strong as hotels pivot from hosting evacuees

A fter the Hamas assault on Israel on October 7 , tens of thousands of Israelis were evacuated from towns around Israel’s borders with Lebanon and Gaza. At the onset of the war, the Israeli Tourism Ministry helped 125,000 displaced residents find temporary housing. Under the leadership of Tourism Minister Haim Katz, the ministry secured 50,000 hotel rooms for displaced residents and set up a daily subsistence allowance program.

The Tourism Ministry paid hotels 3.2 billion shekels ($850 million US dollars) and allocated 2 billion shekels for 100,000 displaced residents through Israel’s National Insurance Institute. 

More than six months since the outbreak of the war , approximately 7,000 evacuees are still living in hotels. Around 50,000 have returned home, having been given a special grant from the Tourism Ministry. 

The Media Line spoke to the Tourism Ministry and the hotels that hosted evacuees about the experience of housing evacuees, the war’s impact on the tourism industry, and the future of tourism in Israel. 

“Tourism stopped completely at the beginning of the war, as happened in every place in the world,” Tourism Ministry spokesperson Anat Shihor-Aronson told The Media Line. “From almost reaching the record of incoming tourism in 2023, as it was in 2019, to nothing-from 100 to 0.”

Shihor-Aronson said that the Tourism Ministry initially did not plan to participate in the evacuation efforts. But when it was announced that displaced residents would be housed in public buildings such as schools, Tourism Minister Haim Katz proposed an alternative solution.

Housing 90,000 evacuees amid war crisis

“He said, ‘No way,’” Shihor-Aronson recounted. “We at the Tourism Ministry know how to work with hotels and immediately connected with the Israel Hotel Association . We established a situation room in Tel Aviv in the hotel association building and brought tens of our employees and the people from the hotel association.”

The team succeeded in placing evacuees in 50,000 hotel rooms in just a few days.

About 90,000 evacuees were housed in hotel rooms at the beginning of the war, Shihor-Aronson said. As the war dragged on, many evacuees sought out other options for housing. 

“The conditions are not easy, even though the hotels provided their best facilities and went beyond their duty to accommodate the evacuees,” Shihor-Aronson said.

She added that the ministry provided displaced residents who preferred not to stay in hotels grants of 200 shekels ($53 US dollars) per adult and 100 shekels ($27 US dollars) per child daily for alternative housing.

“It gets to 18,000 shekels [$4,770 US dollars] a month for a family of two parents and two children and 21,000 [$5,570] for a family of three children, allowing them to rent an apartment by themselves and still have money to live,” Shihor-Aronson said. “Many evacuees chose this.”

The current governmental support for displaced residents is set to last until July 7. If the ministry’s services are still needed beyond that, they may be extended. 

“Who knows what’s going to happen? We hope the war will end, but if we need to continue our services, we are completely ready to do so,” Shihor-Aronson said.

Yossi Glazer, the southern district general manager of Fattal Hotels, Israel’s largest hotel chain, told The Media Line that the chain’s hotels housed over 20,000 people who were displaced from their homes. 

“These evacuees were welcomed at all of our 40 hotels across Israel, from north to south, and hosted with great love and compassion,” Glazer said. 

He said that about 90% of rooms in the hotels were used by evacuees. Most of those evacuees have returned home or moved to alternative residences by now, with many hotels no longer hosting any displaced residents. 

“We opened our doors to evacuees only,” Glazer said. “Some stayed for weeks, some for months. For now, the majority left, except for two hotels: one in Eilat and one in Tel Aviv.”

Although the period was highly challenging, the hotels were prepared for the crisis, Glazer said. 

“Our work is to know how to adjust to every guest’s needs,” he explained. “In wartime, we have the opportunity to become a home for people. Besides all the basic needs, the room and amenities, we know how to adjust the food and change our menu so people have a variety that can fit for six months.”

Glazer noted that the kindergartens, schools, and medical, dental, and mental health centers were opened at the hotels in order to meet the evacuees’ needs. 

He said that helping the evacuees was a pleasure and honor and said that the families appreciated the hotels’ efforts.

“They became our family, and we became theirs,” he said. “Our maids know the names of every dog in the hotel, every child, and every family. We celebrated weddings, bar mitzvahs, and birthdays. We have seen the births of more than 30 babies of Jewish families in our hotels.”

“Some evacuees were very traumatized, and still, our staff knew how to hug them, listen, and host with much love,” he continued, “And more than that, we have more than 300 team members, men and women, who were called up for military service during these difficult times.”

Koby Hatzoel, Fattal’s general manager for Tel Aviv and Herzliya, told The Media Line that the financial aspect of housing evacuees was not discussed at the beginning of the war. 

“We didn’t even think about the finances. We just wanted to help the people pass this difficult time,” he said. 

He said that the hotels began receiving financial compensation from the Tourism Ministry about one month after the war broke out. 

While the costs of rooms were covered, the hotels will need additional funds for repairs after the evacuees leave. 

“When people stay at the hotel so much time, with animals and with all their stuff, you need to renovate the rooms afterwards. We hope to get some support to do it,” Hatzoel said. 

Tourism Ministry spokesperson Shihor-Aronson expressed optimism about the future of tourism in Israel. 

“We are already preparing for the day after the war,” she said.

“We keep in touch with everybody,” she continued. “We organize events to make the world keep Israel in mind all the time. We support our marketing routes, and we also participate in almost every tourism fair all over the globe, and the interest in Israel is still there.”

Hatzoel expressed his gratitude for the domestic tourism still happening in the country. He noted that the chain’s hotels in Eilat, the Dead Sea, and Tel Aviv are fully booked. 

“People want to go back to their routine and go on vacation,” he said, predicting that the hotels will do well during the upcoming Jewish holiday of Passover and over the summer vacation. 

Glazer, who manages hotels in southern Israel, said that Israelis are interested in domestic tourism as a way to relax during a tense year. He said that demand is highest in resort areas and in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The hotels have also begun hosting foreign visitors who are traveling on business or on solidarity visits, he said. 

With strong demand amid a complex reality, Israel’s hotel industry has proven its resilience.

“Tourism is no longer a luxury,” Glazer said. “It’s a basic need. We all know that Israel had some other crises in the past. We hope that we will return to normal levels of tourism, even in the third quarter of this year.”

'Clean and safe' for who? Asheville council hears anxieties around proposed BID

ASHEVILLE - From her home on Church Street, Susan Griffin has watched the movement of downtown for 20 years. She was a fierce proponent of a Business Improvement District in 2012, and was subsequently appointed co-chair of its committee.

Though the district was created, the effort eventually stalled for lack of funding. 

But on April 23, a decade later, Griffin stood in front of Asheville City Council urging them to say no to a newly proposed downtown BID effort — which she called “virtually identical” to the old pitch, without taking into account the significant changes undergone by Asheville’s central business district. 

“It has too many unresolved and underdeveloped elements, too little real community input and a false sense of urgency to get it done,” she said. “A bad BID is worse than no BID at all.”

A Business Improvement District, or Municipal Service District, as it is defined by state statute, would leverage a special tax on property owners within a specific area to fund additional services or improvement projects. 

It is not intended to replace city services, but to supplement them. 

There are more than 60 BIDs in North Carolina, according to the latest data from the N.C. Department of Revenue, and more than 1,000 across the country. It's a common tool, N.C. Carolina Downtown Development Association executive director Jason Epley told the Citizen Times in April, with the ability to respond to a downtown's unique needs.

The BID proposal was brought by the Asheville Downtown Association and Chamber of Commerce. Two separate council votes are needed to establish a BID and set the tax rate — currently proposed at $0.0919 per $100 of assessed value. Votes are scheduled for May 14 and June 11. 

The assessment would generate a $1.25 million operating budget. BID management is typically overseen by an outside organization. If approved, the Chamber and ADA plan to respond to the city’s request for proposals. 

The budget outlined in the Chamber’s operational plan includes reimbursement to itself for the consultant it paid for a feasibility study: $200,000 over four years.  

Clean for who? Safe for who?

Zach Wallace, vice president of public policy with the Chamber, said the BID effort is a response to concerns from community, to the many calls from downtown residents and business owners dealing with trash, with needles, “with any of the things that you could see outside your door.” 

The conversation around a BID never stopped, he said, even when efforts faltered a decade before. 

“We think of downtown Asheville as the economic heart of the region,” Wallace told the Citizen Times in an early April interview. “It’s an asset that has to be protected.”

“Clean and safe” is the slogan at the center of the Chamber’s proposal. It’s a familiar call of BIDs nationwide, proposing uniformed “hospitality ambassadors” — which it envisions as people in brightly colored polos patrolling downtown — and enhanced cleaning, like litter removal, street sweeping and pressure washing. 

But some critics asked, “Clean for who? Safe for who?” 

“I don’t believe they have everyone in mind when pitching a clean and safe downtown. I’m worried that it means cleansed of people they deem unworthy of taking up space, which usually points to marginalized communities,” said Madison Jane during the April 23 public comment period. 

Other concerns surrounded further displacement of the city’s homeless populations, a rushed BID process, lack of input from the city’s workers and the blurring lines between public and private space.

Griffin said the city needed to bring its baseline services up — like a fully staffed police force and 24/7 community responders — before it could begin to supplement anything. She likened it to putting icing on a nonexistent cake. 

“Without these core resources to call on, the ambassador program is just an expensive PR stunt,” she said. “It may fool tourists, but it’s not going to bring meaningful change to downtown residents and workers.”

On April 23, Asheville City Council held its statutorily required public comment period in the banquet hall of Harrah’s Cherokee Center in downtown. Nearly 60 speakers signed up for a muddled and lengthy evening of input. 

Hours of comment were preceded by back-and-forth from council over whether to cap the comment period at one hour, to limit speakers from three minutes to two, or when to even begin public comment, with contradictory start times complicating matters — while some audience members shouted their input up to the dais. 

Many downtown residents, workers and business owners railed against the BID, among them leaders of Asheville Food and Beverage United. Though a majority of speakers spoke against it, more than a dozen people were firmly in support. 

Eva-Michelle Spicer, fourth generation co-owner of downtown’s Spicer Greene Jewelers, said a BID was necessary to fill a “crucial gap.”

“Rather than stretch the city’s resources further, to the possible detriment of other neighborhoods,” she said the dedicated tax would provide “significantly expanded” services targeting downtown. 

Spicer is one of 26 members of a BID steering committee, composed of downtown business and property owners. 

The proposal “puts more eyes and ears on our sidewalks to make sure folks in need are not overlooked,” she said. 

BID calls were amplified, and a feasibility study funded, in spring 2023, a time that also marked escalating outcry from downtown business owners around what many felt was increasing crime in downtown.

Asheville Police Department crime data, presented in January, said citywide crime fell from 2022 to 2023, with violent crime seeing an 18% decrease and property crime down 13%.

In an April 23 presentation to a council committee, APD reported numbers continue to drop, with citywide violent crime down 9% from Jan. 1 to March 31 compared to the same time last year, and property crime down 6%.

Heads of influential downtown organizations — like the Asheville Independent Restaurants Association and Asheville Buncombe Hotel Association — also voiced support for the BID. 

JB McKibbon of McKibbon Hospitality, on the BID steering committee, said he represented the “largest property owner impacted by the BID,” with property spanning hotels, workforce housing, restaurants and other holdings. 

He said people feel unsafe downtown and an additional presence is needed. 

“I don’t think we need to overthink it. It’s focused on the basic necessities: clean and safe, and supplement the city’s resources on that endeavor,” McKibbon said. 

How would this impact Asheville’s unhoused? 

A central component of the proposed ambassador program, and an oft-repeated line from BID supporters, was that its team of workers would not only interface with visitors and businesses, but would engage “with members of the street and unhoused population,” directing them to “appropriate service providers.”

Some public commenters feared issues of safety were being conflated with the city’s unhoused population, or that ambassadors would not have the expertise to respond to people experiencing mental and behavioral health crises, or substance use disorder. 

Erin Mastandrea, who said she works in homeless services, said “people are afraid, and they want to feel safe here, and when I hear that, and have been following that rhetoric, I think it’s focused on our houseless folks.”

“A BID is not going to solve the systemic issues that exist in this community,” she said, naming substance use disorder, a lack of affordable housing and mental health crises. “That is my fear. That this is some sort of Band-Aid that people that are feeling fearful want to just slap onto a situation that is exponentially complicated.”

“I don’t think we, or I, are trying to say that this is about homelessness,” Wallace said in an early April conversation with the Citizen Times. “Homelessness is a piece of what’s happening, but it’s more about the feeling of safety that folks feel is lacking in downtown.”

The hospitality ambassadors, as proposed, would not be armed or have enforcement power. He hoped the program would only strengthen other efforts, like the community paramedics, rather than work in competition. 

Of the Asheville police reports of declining crime numbers, Wallace said: “For customers, either local, visitors, people from our broader region, perception is just as important as crime numbers. So if they feel unsafe, then they are not going to visit downtown, or our community at large.”

The hospitality ambassadors could be a tool to address that, he said. 

‘Those phone calls are already happening’

For some, the next step was simple: slow down. 

Patrick Conant, director of Sunshine Labs, a local organization promoting open government and civic engagement, said it was time for the work to move into the public eye. 

“We’re at the point now where the process needs to be opened,” Conant told the Citizen Times April 19. 

The proposed board makeup, which would govern the BID, includes 15 seats: Three for major property owners (with commercial property with a combined taxable value of more than $1.5 million); two large property owners ($500,000-$1.5 million); two small property owners (less than $500,000), two residents; a resident tenant; a retail tenant; an office tenant; a food and beverage tenant; a “community council” representative and an at-large appointee. 

The non-voting seats include city and county managers (or designees) and a council member. There was originally an exclusive seat for the Tourism Development Authority, which was removed after public input, and a City Council seat added. 

The BID would follow open meetings and public record law to ensure transparency, Spicer said. Each year City Council would approve the board of directors and the budget. The initial period for the proposed BID is 10 years, with a "significant review" at five years.

Per the city staff report, the initial decision by council will be limited to establishing the BID and setting the tax rate. The governance structure — around which many of the questions revolve — “will be determined at a later date, prior to the implementation of BID service delivery.”

While conditionally supportive of BIDs, Andrew Fletcher, former vice chair of the city’s Downtown Commission, who works downtown, said this proposal doesn’t have his support. It comes down to governance and board structure: local workers and renters should carry the most seats. 

“While bills go to the property owners, the costs are passed to the tenants,” he said, 

Clean and safe are services that should fall to the city, he said. Of the hospitality ambassadors, he said they’d be left with little to do but call the police or homeless services. 

“Is it the people we need making the phone calls that we’re missing, or is it the people on the other end of those phone calls that we’re missing?” Fletcher said. 

“When it comes to funding solutions, we don’t need more calls for service. We need more services.”

Griffin’s call was similar: “Send this back. Have really open sessions and input from people and fund it next year. If it’s good, it’s worth waiting for.”

More: Asheville Downtown Association pushes hard for Business Improvement District

More: Will East Asheville's Ramada remain housing for homeless after foreclosure?

More: After monthslong calls for Israel-Hamas ceasefire resolution, Asheville mayor responds

Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email [email protected] or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with a  subscription  to the Citizen Times .

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The Morning

Chaos and oppression.

The central question for universities responding to protests is whether to prioritize the preservation of order or the desire of students to denounce oppression.

By David Leonhardt

Arnold Kling, an economist, published a book a decade ago that offered a way to think about the core difference between progressives and conservatives. Progressives, Kling wrote , see the world as a struggle between the oppressor and the oppressed, and they try to help the oppressed. Conservatives see the world as a struggle between civilization and barbarism — between order and chaos — and they try to protect civilization.

Like many frameworks, Kling’s is a simplification, and it’s easy to find exceptions. But his book has been influential because the framework often sheds light on political arguments.

The debate over pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia and other universities has become an example. If you want to understand why university leaders are finding the situation so hard to resolve, Kling’s dichotomy is useful: The central question for colleges is whether to prioritize the preservation of order or the desire of students to denounce oppression.

In today’s newsletter, I’ll lay out the cases of the dueling sides.

Confronting injustice

For the student protesters, the injustice in Gaza is so horrific that it takes precedence over almost anything else.

The death toll in Gaza since Oct. 7 is more than 30,000, the Gaza Ministry of Health reports. Entire neighborhoods are rubble. Israel has slowed the entry of basic supplies into Gaza, and many families are hungry. (My colleagues Vivian Yee and Bilal Shbair profiled two families trying to find their children enough to eat .)

The protesters view this suffering as an atrocity that demands action, much as Jim Crow laws, the Vietnam War and South African apartheid did for earlier students. In a statement yesterday, a pro-Palestinian group at Columbia cited as inspiration the anti-Vietnam War demonstrators who were killed at Kent State University in 1970.

If classes must be canceled and graduation ceremonies can’t happen, all the better, the students say. The disruptions will force the world to confront what the protesters describe as a genocide. “Big picture, genocide is happening, and this is where we stand,” one Columbia graduate student told the publication Hell Gate .

Many protesters specifically call for their universities to divest from companies that do business in Israel or help produce military equipment.

Some students have framed the debate as being about free speech, and free-speech principles do play a role. But I don’t think they are as central as Kling’s frame. Both sides, after all, have tried to restrict speech. Supporters of Israel have doxxed pro-Palestinian students and tried to penalize slogans like “ From the river to the sea .” Pro-Palestinian protesters have ripped away Israeli and U.S. flags and tried to prevent pro-Israel students from speaking.

The protesters’ abiding principle is not freedom of speech. It is justice for the oppressed.

Preventing chaos

For the protesters’ critics, the breakdown of order is the central problem — because a community that descends into chaos can’t function.

Protesters have frequently violated colleges’ rules. They have erected tents in public places and overwhelmed those areas. Columbia has switched to hybrid classes because of the turmoil.

Even worse, some protests have involved harassment and violence. The University of Michigan had to cut short an honors ceremony for students. At Vanderbilt, more than 20 protesters stormed the president’s office, injuring a security guard and shattering a window. At Columbia , videos have shown protesters threatening Jewish students with antisemitic vitriol, including a sign talking about Hamas’s “next targets.”

If universities do not enforce their own rules against such behavior, the rules have no meaning, administrators fear. Other protesters, seeing their own causes as existential, could likewise halt normal life. Perhaps they would be climate activists or students outraged by China’s oppression of Uighurs — or even demonstrators with right-wing views unpopular on American campuses. If anti-abortion protesters were to take over a quad for days, would university administrators ignore their own campus rules?

Jason Riley, a Wall Street Journal columnist, has compared the protesters’ tactics to those of the white residents of Arkansas who tried to use physical intimidation to prevent the enforcement of a law they didn’t like: school desegregation. President Dwight Eisenhower responded by proclaiming that “disorderly mobs” could not triumph, Riley noted.

College administrators are not making such analogies. Many express sympathy for the protesters’ concerns. But some insist that society can’t function if people violate rules without consequence. “We cannot have one group dictate terms and attempt to disrupt important milestones like graduation to advance their point of view,” Minouche Shafik, Columbia’s president, wrote to the campus this week.

What’s next?

I recognize that not everybody will accept Kling’s framework for this debate. Pro-Palestinian students will say that Israel is the true source of disorder, while pro-Israel students will say that Hamas is the true oppressor.

Still, I think the Kling dichotomy captures the dilemma that university leaders face. The protests continue, and graduation season is approaching. Those leaders will have to make difficult decisions about what values to prioritize.

The latest on the protests

“Go back to class,” Speaker Mike Johnson told protesters while visiting Columbia. He suggested calling in the National Guard .

At the University of Texas, police officers in riot gear blocked protesters and arrested at least 20 of them. The protests at Columbia, and the school’s response, have galvanized demonstrations at universities across the U.S.

Columbia’s president is fighting for her job. Some professors now oppose her , but she has the support of the school’s board.

Benjamin Netanyahu called student protesters in the U.S. “antisemitic mobs.”

Trump said the demonstrations were worse than the violent 2017 white supremacist protests in Charlottesville, where a woman was killed.

Brandeis, a historically Jewish university outside Boston, extended its deadline for transfer applications , promising an environment “free of harassment and Jew-hatred.”

THE LATEST NEWS

Foreign aid bill.

President Biden signed a bill with aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, calling it “a good day for world peace.” The administration plans to send Ukraine more weapons this week .

The bill includes $1 billion in humanitarian aid. “Israel must make sure all this aid reaches the Palestinians in Gaza without delay,” Biden said.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, was a linchpin in winning aid for Ukraine, pushing back against isolationists in his own party.

An Arizona grand jury charged Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows and others over their efforts to help Donald Trump overturn his 2020 election loss. The indictment names Trump as an unindicted co-conspirator.

Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial resumes this morning. This graphic shows the links between Trump and other figures in the case.

Biden mocked Trump for suggesting as president that disinfectant injections might treat Covid. The bleach “ all went to his hair ,” Biden said.

More on Politics

Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, is in China. Economic tensions are high .

The Supreme Court sounded divided over whether to allow doctors to perform emergency abortions in states with strict bans. Today the court will hear Trump’s claim that he’s immune from prosecution over Jan. 6.

Three Arizona Republicans voted with Democrats to repeal the state’s 1864 abortion ban . The bill heads to the State Senate.

Building union leaders endorsed Biden. They plan to mobilize their members to support him in swing states, CNN reports .

Donald Payne Jr., a six-term Democratic congressman from New Jersey known for wearing bow ties, died at 65 .

International

Floods across Kenya have killed at least 32 people and displaced more than 40,000.

The U.S. secretly shipped new long-range missiles to Ukraine .

Hamas released a video showing for the first time that Hersh Goldberg-Polin , an Israeli American taken hostage on Oct. 7, remains alive.

Other Big Stories

The Justice Department is investigating the consulting firm McKinsey over its role helping drug companies sell opioids .

The Agriculture Department finalized new school meal guidelines with less salt and sugar .

To combat avian flu, the Biden administration will require tests for cows that cross state lines .

NPR is in turmoil : The broadcaster’s audience is shrinking, its sponsorship revenue is declining, and its leaders are struggling with political strife.

Trump’s criminal trials make him seem like a victim . That could help him on Election Day, Stuart Stevens , a Republican political consultant, writes.

The federal government should test people for avian flu now, before an outbreak starts, Zeynep Tufekci writes.

Here’s a column by Charles Blow on the Vietnam War and the Gaza protests.

MORNING READS

Athens: A Saharan dust cloud has turned the city orange .

Meet Cait Bailey: She’s a publicist to major celebrities, and her boyfriend is a famous chef. But she’d prefer to keep a low profile .

Diet: Could calorie restriction or intermittent fasting help you live longer? Read what scientists know .

Broods: Trillions of cicadas are emerging after more than a decade of feeding on tree roots. Get ready .

Lives Lived: Helen Vendler’s power as a poetry critic derived from her close and impassioned readings. A fellow critic called her a “colossus.” Vendler died at 90 .

Queens Park Ladies: An under-12 girls’ soccer team in England joined a boys’ league — and went undefeated . “They definitely underestimated us,” Edith Wragg, one of the players, said.

N.F.L. Draft: Four quarterbacks are expected to go in the first round tonight .

N.B.A.: The Miami Heat shocked the Boston Celtics in a 111-101 road win to even the series at 1-1.

College football: Reggie Bush’s 2005 Heisman Trophy was reinstated , nearly 14 years after he forfeited it during a scandal.

ARTS AND IDEAS

The Venice Biennale, the world’s best event to discover new art, opened with a Prosecco-soaked weekend. Artists, along with critics and collectors, filled the city.

The Times’s critic Jason Farago was one of them. While he loved some of the work, he didn’t love the theme, “Foreigners Everywhere,” which he felt reflects a problem in our culture. “It’s often preachy, but that’s not its biggest problem. The real problem is how it tokenizes, essentializes, minimizes and pigeonholes talented artists,” he writes. Read his review .

Related: Venice is trying to limit tourism with a small fee on busy days .

More on culture

“Challengers,” from the director Luca Guadagnino, is about love and tennis. The Times spoke with its stars, including Zendaya, about the film and life in the public eye .

The American Film Institute is giving Nicole Kidman a lifetime achievement award this week. See what makes her work singular .

The Getty Museum agreed to return an ancient bronze head to Turkey.

A long-lost Gustav Klimt painting sold for $37 million at auction.

Jimmy Kimmel dunked on Trump’s billion-dollar stock bonus .

THE MORNING RECOMMENDS …

Toss a 20-minute lemony orzo with asparagus and garlic bread crumbs.

Navigate grief with these books .

Understand the new airline refund rules .

Buy a gift for a green-thumbed friend.

Here is today’s Spelling Bee . Yesterday’s pangram was topiary .

And here are today’s Mini Crossword , Wordle , Sudoku , Connections and Strands .

Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — David

P.S. Lauren Jackson — one of the Times journalists in London who update this newsletter while you’re sleeping — has been promoted to associate editor .

Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox . Reach our team at [email protected] .

David Leonhardt runs The Morning , The Times’s flagship daily newsletter. Since joining The Times in 1999, he has been an economics columnist, opinion columnist, head of the Washington bureau and founding editor of the Upshot section, among other roles. More about David Leonhardt

World Cup 2026: Concerns over fans’ U.S. visa wait times – ‘Your window might already be closed’

Concerns have been raised with the United States government, including an official meeting in the White House, over fears supporters may be deterred from the 2026 men’s World Cup owing to excessive wait times to process visa applications to visit the country.

The tournament begins in 777 days and it will be at least another 18 months before many countries will be assured of qualification, yet the wait times for U.S. visa interviews in two Mexican cities are already in excess of 800 days, while it is 685 days in the Colombian capital of Bogota.

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In a statement to The Athletic , the U.S. Department of State (which oversees international relations) insisted it is determined to reduce wait times but also encouraged supporters in affected countries to start applying for visas now, over two years out from the tournament and with the line-up still unknown.

The 2026 edition of world football’s governing body FIFA ’s flagship tournament will include 48 nations for the first time and will be held in 16 cities in the U.S, Canada and Mexico.

It will also be the first World Cup without an overarching local organising committee, which means FIFA is tasked with pulling everything together, in conjunction with the many layers of stakeholders and bureaucracy across three nations and 16 host cities, each of which have differing levels of private and taxpayer support.

The three host countries also have differing entry criteria for visitors, which has the potential to create visa confusion for fans seeking to follow their team deep into the tournament across multiple borders.

Several host cities, including the location for the final — New York/New Jersey — are also concerned about the wait times for visas, and the potential impact on income from tourism during the tournament, but the cities are currently allowing FIFA and the travel industry to lead the conversations with the government. Some of those who have spoken to The Athletic wished to remain anonymous, owing either to sensitivity around discussions or to protect working relationships.

Travis Murphy is the founder of Jetr Global Sports + Entertainment and a former American diplomat who also once ran international government affairs for the NBA .

“My concern is this could be a disaster (in 2026),” he said. “The concerns are absolutely there on the city level. The cities are thinking, ‘They are FIFA, so they must have it under control.’ But when you realise how FIFA worked in the past with previous hosts in Qatar and Russia, it doesn’t necessarily work in the United States.

“We’re just a completely different animal in terms of how our government operates and how we communicate. And frankly, the emphasis that we place on soccer as a sport in our country.

“If this was the Super Bowl, the World Series or the NBA finals, we’d be having a different conversation. Soccer is not the biggest sport in our country. And I think that’s a fundamental lack of understanding by FIFA, perhaps just taking it for granted that it is the case everywhere in the world. But it’s not yet in the United States.”

In recent months, U.S. travel industry representatives and FIFA have raised concerns with the U.S. Department of State and the White House as the respective groups seek to organise how millions of tourists will enter the U.S. during the five-week tournament in June and July 2026. In January 2024, FIFA strengthened its staff in D.C. when it hired Alex Sopko, the former chief of staff for the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House, to be its new Director of Government Relations.

In a statement to The Athletic , a FIFA spokesperson said the organisation is working closely with U.S. Government in the planning and preparation for the World Cup, including regular discussions on critical topics such as immigration and visas, and adding it recognises “the urgency of these matters.”

The visa delays ahead of the World Cup were raised in a meeting at the White House on Wednesday, April 17, with senior administration officials in conversation with the United States Travel Association (U.S. Travel).  

Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of U.S. Travel, was present in the meeting. He describes visa wait times as a “massive issue” but added: “We came away confident that the White House recognises the significance of the 2026 World Cup and will take concrete steps to streamline aspects of the travel experience for the more than eight million anticipated visitors.”

Freely available data on the website of the Department of Consular affairs details the lengthy wait times currently impacting visitor visas from markets that may be highly relevant during the World Cup, which begins in 778 days.

Forty-one countries, including much of Europe, Japan, South Korea and Australia, are part of a visa waiver programme — ESTA — to enter the United States, which means citizens of these countries can travel without obtaining a visa, so as long as their trip for tourism or business does not exceed 90 days.

However, many people, estimated by U.S. Travel to represent 45 per cent of those who visit the States, do require visas for entry. These documents, called a B1/B2 visa, also require in-person appointments at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate to take digital photographs and fingerprints, as well as an interview, in which the candidate must state their intention to return to their home countries and explain their reasons for visiting the United States.

Wait times for a visa interview at a U.S. consulate in the Mexican cities of Mexico City and Guadalajara are currently 878 days and 820 days respectively, so an application made today may not be approved before the World Cup begins. In the Colombian capital of Bogota, the current wait time is 685 days, while Panama City is 477 days and Quito in Ecuador is 420.

The 2026 World Cup is guaranteed to include the U.S, Mexico and Canada as hosts but five more nations may yet qualify from North and Central America, while up to seven may enter from the South American Football Confederation. Wait times are also dramatic in the Turkish city of Istanbul, where it takes 553 days for an appointment, as well as in Morocco, semi-finalists at the World Cup in 2022, where the wait time is 225 days.

In a statement to The Athletic, the state department said: “We encourage prospective FIFA World Cup visitors who will need U.S. visas to apply now – there is no requirement to have purchased event tickets, made hotel reservations, or reserved airline tickets to qualify for a visitor visa.”

Freeman attributes the current visa delays to the shutdown of consular offices during the coronavirus pandemic but also outlines long-standing issues.

“The U.S. is the world’s most desired nation to visit, but our market share is slipping and it’s in a large part due to long visa wait times,” he said. “If you are Colombian and want to come and bring your kids in 2026, your window might already be closed.”

A World Cup is further complicated because many supporters may wait until their nations have secured qualification to organise their trip. For the Americas, this will largely be in winter 2025 — the play-offs may be as late as March 2026 — while nations will only know the cities in which their teams will be competing following the draw, which is usually held eight months out from the tournament.

During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, visitors were able to expedite their entry into the country by applying for a Hayya card, effectively a fan pass for World Cup ticket holders that acted as a visa for the tournament. A repeat pass is not expected to be approved by the U.S, particularly at a time of global tensions both in the Middle East and following Russia ’s invasion of and continued war against Ukraine .

Freeman warned: “The U.S. is not going to change its visa policies in the short term to frankly cater to FIFA. I think where you may see the U.S. adjust some of its approach is in cooperation with Mexico and Canada . So once teams have qualified within the tournament, how do we streamline their ability to cross borders and attend games in other markets later in the tournament? I believe that’s where there will be greater cooperation and some of those discussions are already taking place.”

The answer may simply be additional staff and investment, such as deploying more consular officers at embassies, a method which has helped significantly reduce wait times from Brazil and India over the past year. Congress set aside $50million for the U.S. State Department to “reduce passport backlogs and reduce visa wait times” in a bill signed into law by U.S. President Joe Biden in March but it was not specified how and where the money will be invested.

There is a precedent for visa issues causing delays at major international sporting events in the United States. Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala, who set the African 100metres record of 9.77 seconds in 2021, only received his visa documentation the day before the men’s 100 metres heats began at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon in 2022.

After securing his visa in Kenya, he took a five-hour flight to Qatar, endured a six-hour layover, then a 14-hour flight to Seattle, another three-hour layover and last of all, a one-hour flight to Oregon. He landed at 4.15 pm and immediately went to the track, where the heats commenced at 6.50pm.

The sprinter said: “If you are hosting a championship, you need to waive (visa requirements) for athletes. It’s a lesson for the host country in the future, and the U.S. is hosting the Olympics in 2028 (in Los Angeles), so they need to learn from this and do better next time.”

Murphy added: “There were hundreds of athletes who were unable to travel. The World Athletics Championships was was a relatively small event compared to the magnitude of what we’re talking about with the 48-team World Cup and the millions and millions of people involved, in terms of what needs to happen.”

Playing rosters are usually only approved in the final months before a tournament, but the U.S. is expected to expedite processing to ensure players and support staff from federations are able to arrive in time for the World Cup.

The U.S. Department of State attributes the issues at World Athletics to the pressures felt by consular officers coming out of the pandemic and told The Athletic that wait times for “P-visas”, generally used by members of professional sports teams coming to participate in athletic competitions, are “low worldwide”.

Murphy said the National Security Council has established a working committee on the matter for the White House but caveated his optimism with a reminder that more instant priorities are Israel, Gaza and Ukraine. He said: “This is not a priority beyond the host cities, FIFA itself and the members of Congress who represent those host cities. But in terms of there being a broad approach that is all-encompassing and has a wide swath of support in Congress, there’s just nothing there. There’s no bills or initiatives in Congress that are focused on this.”

He added: “The conversations that needed to have started a year plus ago are not at a point where they need to be. And when you’re talking about the U.S. Government, it is essentially at a state of standstill in terms of any major movement that needs to happen from now until November of this year (when there is a Presidential election).”

The Department of State insisted it is “committed to facilitating legitimate travel to the United States while maintaining high national security standards.”

Its statement continued: “We are pleased to be an active participant in a working group with FIFA and other stakeholders on plans for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Bureau of Consular Affairs recognizes the importance of international inbound tourism, including for mega sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup, and is working tirelessly to facilitate secure travel to the United States. We have significantly reduced visa wait times over the past two years.”

One of the peculiarities of the U.S. political system is that there is no sports ministry to facilitate such discussions. In its absence, Murphy calls for a special envoy to be appointed, with the World Cup likely to be followed by the women’s edition in 2027 before the Olympics in LA in 2028.

He said: “There has to be somebody centralised to organise those conversations. That’s relatively easy to do. If it’s somebody that has the respect and attention of the cabinet agencies, they can have a conversation with Capitol Hill and that’s going to go a long way to getting things done.”

(Top photo: Patrick Smith/FIFA via Getty Images)

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Adam Crafton covers football for The Athletic. He previously wrote for the Daily Mail. In 2018, he was named the Young Sports Writer of the Year by the Sports' Journalist Association. His debut book,"From Guernica to Guardiola", charting the influence of Spaniards in English football, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2018. He is based in London.