Israel to set new record in inbound tourism

Israeli tourism sector has been showing a growing trend during the year 2018. Nearly 4 million visitors have visited the historical country, since the beginning of the year. Around 389,000 tourists visited Israel in November alone, as per reports.

There has been persistent growth in tourism over the past two years and the authorities are expecting record number of tourists this year, if the trend continues. It is expected to have around four million visitors by the end of the year.

The country has hosted around 3.8 million tourists during the period January – November 2018, which is 14 per cent more than that of the same period in 2017.

“The month of November continues the record breaking momentum of inbound tourists and leads us towards unmatched end of year statistics,” said Yariv Levin, Tourism Minister.

“We have achieved the goals we set for ourselves and I believe we will reach 4 million tourists by the end of the year,  an all-time record,” added Levin.

The number of tourists visited during November 2018 is 9 per cent more than during the same period last year and 35 per cent more than November 2016. The revenue earned during the period was around USD 560 million.

Jerusalem bags first place in the world in terms of visitor growth with an annual increase of nearly 40 per cent, based on figures from the UK-based Euromonitor market research organization.

“This is also a direct result of our marketing activities and we will continue to prove that, with hard work and intensive marketing, it is possible to transform Israel into an attractive tourist destination and, as a result, an incredible agent for economic growth,” states the Tourism Ministry.

Since January, entries from certain European countries have soared in comparison to the same period last year, including an increase of approximately 90 per cent from Poland, 40 per cent from the Czech Republic, Romania and Hungary, and 35 per cent from Italy.

Significantly more tourists also came from Holland, Germany, Spain and the United States.

The tourism sector of Israel has been in a coming back mode since 2016, after the drop in inbound tourists due to the unrest prevailed in the country. With 287,900 visitors for the month, November 2016 marked 38 per cent increase over November 2015. Since then the tourism sector is in a growth path, as per statistics.