Abraham Tours, founded in 2010, was rebranded from its original name of Indie Travelers – a travel and touring company established for FIT travelers. “We launched Abraham Tours at the same time as opening Abraham Hostel in Jerusalem, but the premise remained – to provide cultural and regional travel experiences across Israel,” outlines founder Gal Mor. The company currently offers a selection of tours and packages departing from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Eilat and Nazareth, including cultural sites across regions such as Haifa, Akko, Masada and Ein Gedi, as well as bike tours, culinary tours and workshops, and more.

“Part of our vision is to offer travelers the opportunity to experience entire areas and nearby regions, the same way they would in other countries,” explains Mor. “As tourists are not limited in their travel within Israel and bordering countries, we’re able to facilitate the option of visiting places such as the West Bank, Petra and Egypt.”

Tours are offered according to themes, including nature, adventure, politics, history, culinary and nightlife. “Our cultural tours are aimed at exploring the local scene, for example visiting Jewish Orthodox neighborhoods in Jerusalem to better understand the multi-faceted sub communities of this religion,” says Mor. “There’s also our Hebron tour, political in nature but not in agenda. The idea is for visitors to spend half a day with a Palestinian Muslim guide and then the second half on the Jewish settlement side with a Jewish guide, in order to engage with both communities and hear each of their narratives. This illustrates the deeper complexities of the situation and challenges visitors to investigate more on these issues.”

Transportation is provided for all tours in Abraham Tours branded 16-seater mini-buses. “Some of our tours are self-guided in order to encourage social travel and a sense of community among the group.” The Abraham Tours app provides content from tour guides on the sites which visitors can read and use at their own pace throughout the tours.

Private Tours and Transfers
Abraham Tours also offers a customized private tour service, featuring a selection of regions and sites across Israel, the West Bank, Jordan and Egypt. Visitors can also book just a tour guide (various languages available), transportation or both. In addition, airport transfers are offered from Ben Gurion Airport to a designated hotel, as are transfers between Nazareth and Amman, Jordan. Centers are located in Abraham Hostels in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv with designated pick up locations in each region.

Marketing
The company serves around 2,500-3,000 visitors on tours per month, over half of which are guests of Abraham Hostels in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. “North America is our biggest single market, accounting for around 25 percent of bookings, followed by Germany. But there is always a change in demographics depending on the time of year or with the introduction of new low cost flights to Israel. For example, Poland has recently become a popular market for us,” identifies Mor.

Online marketing is conducted through review sites, such as Booking.com, TripAdvisor and Hostelworld, digital word of mouth, social media and a Google ad campaign. “We also have a travel blogger program and have hosted over 100 leading travel bloggers. Although our core customer base are millennials, we also serve a wider demographic of people who are independently minded, seek social travel and are united in their ‘young at heart’ spirit.”