The number of tourists visiting Israel surpassed last year’s record of 3.6 million on Friday, and the Israel Tourism Ministry is projecting entries will exceed four million by December 31.
For the country’s domestic tourism industry, that translates into almost $5 billion in revenue since January.
The record comes on the heels of another achievement reached in October – when 486,000 tourists arrived, setting a high mark for entries in a single month. That number is 19% more than the previous incoming tourism record set in April 2018, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.
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Tourism Minister Yariv Levin attributed the recent records to his ministry’s innovative marketing activities.
Since January, entries from certain European countries have soared in comparison to the same period last year, including an increase of approximately 90% from Poland, 40% from the Czech Republic, Romania and Hungary, and 35% from Italy.
Significantly more tourists also came from Holland, Germany, Spain and the United States.
–Jerusalem Post