Israel en Route to a Record Year for Tourism

As many as 1.7 million tourists visited Israel since the beginning of 2008 (January – July), an increase of 41 percent over the same period last year, when one million tourists visited the country.

Over 260,000 tourists visited Israel in July (an increase of 22 percent over July 2007) and a 75 percent increase over July 2006. The increase in incoming tourism is consistent with the Tourism Ministry’s forecast of a record year for Israeli tourism of 2.8 million tourists in 2008.

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, there has been a 25 percent increase in the number of arrivals by air (1.2 million) since the beginning of the year –1.5 million tourists (31 percent more than 2007) and approximately 240,000 day visitors, three times more than the same period last year.

The Tourism Ministry is currently working to improve the professionalism of various sectors of the tourism industry, including, among others, passport control at border crossings, security personnel and tour guides in order to provide the tourist with a quality service and product as part of the ministry’s preparations for the increased numbers of incoming tourists.