Israel Sees Record 3.6 Million Tourists in 2017

An all-time record 3.6 million tourists visited Israel in 2017, 25 percent more than in 2016. The Ministry of Tourism believes that incoming tourism contributed NIS 20 billion to the Israeli economy.

The country from which the largest number of tourists to Israel come is the US – over 700,000 tourists, 21 percent more than in 2016. Russia was in second place with 307,000 tourists, a 26 percent increase. The increase in tourism from Russia is attributable to the growth in routes and flights from Russia to Israel, some of which are run by low-cost airlines, and the exclusion of Turkey from the Russian tourist map in recent years.

The company with the third highest number of tourist to Israel in 2017 was France with 284,000 tourists, 8 percent more than in 2016, followed by Germany in fourth place with 202,000 tourists, a 34 percent rise over 2016, and the UK, which supplied 185,000 tourists to Israel, 10% more than in 2016.

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Read the full story at Globes [online], Israel Business News.