Purpose This study aims to examine changes in the discourse concerning Israeli tourism to Turkey between 2000 and 2014. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the concept of geographic imagination and using a critical cultural discourse analysis of travel stories published in the Israeli media, the authors analyze the extent to which changes have both reflected and resulted from changing relations between the two countries. Findings The analysis reveals that before 2010, Turkey was depicted in largely positive geo-cultural terms, imagined as a desired cosmopolitan, culturally “authentic” destination, which elicits feelings of joy and peacefulness. More recent narratives, however, highlighted its negative geopolitical qualities, underscoring its anti-Israel stance and invoking a fearful discourse of political and ethno-religious radicalization. Originality/value The study makes three contributions. First, by attending to the significance of perceptions in the social construction of tourist destinations it brings the fields of tourism and cognitive geography into a closer dialogue. Second, by using a critical discourse analysis it highlights the changing cultural contexts within which places are imagined and constructed by tourists. Finally, by uncovering the geographic complexities that undergird the discursive construction of places as tourist destinations, it illustrates how everyday narratives change over time, reflecting the dynamic nature of inter-state relations.

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The article explores investment decisions made by Israelis who purchased or intended to purchase a residential property in Poland. Specifically, it focuses on their set of motivations to invest there and the extent to which their ethno‐national or other types of affinity with the country played a role in their decision. Drawing on interviews with (Jewish) Israeli citizens, we argue that their Choice to invest in Poland was not only financial but influenced also by strong emotional connections to the country, a combination we term ‘sentrumental’ (instrumental and sentimental). We contend that the decision of Israeli Jews to buy property in Poland, against the historical backdrop of the traumatic experience of Jews there, is highly contentious. Analyzing the discursive strategies they use to explain, indeed justify, their unorthodox decision, we show how their emotional ties to Poland often conflict with its controversial history and their own personal identities. It is this conflict, we conclude, that makes Israeli Jews with various biographical ties to Poland an inherently ambivalent elective diaspora.

Under the Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in Israel, almost every taken-for-granted feature of the day-to-day life was affected. This phenomenon and its derived socio-economic effects on cultural tourism have been investigated in a northern peripheral area, Beit She’an Valley, which includes a small urban municipality, Beit She’an town, and a regional council, Emek HaMaayanot (a rural municipality). The closure of heritage sites and almost every kind of public cultural venue has led to economic consequences such as absence of tourists, worker layoffs in the cultural tourism industry and a wave of collapse of businesses. In order to understand the implications of the pandemic on the area, surveys were conducted among two local groups: business owners and residents. The findings show that nine out of ten businesses have been affected, yet few have received governmental support. A large number of business owners think that under the current circumstances, their business can be sustained only for several months. Residents reported that during the pandemic, they avoided public spaces and gatherings, visiting cultural sites much less often than before the pandemic. It is clear that both groups have to readjust their perception of tourist spaces and their activities. The changes that took place in tourism activities following the pandemic have led the owners of local businesses related to cultural tourism, as well as tour guides, to think of different ways to operate their activities. Interviews with a group of business owners suggest that new initiatives and survival strategies may have far-reaching implications for cultural tourism in the region and its characteristics. The findings of this research yield several recommendations regarding how to deal with similar crises in the future so that tourism activities at heritage sites will not be harmed.