Central Bureau of Statistics data released Monday indicated that Israel has set another record for incoming tourism in the first five months of the year, eclipsing the record set in 2010. According to the data, 1.4 million visitors arrived between January and May 2012, 6% more than the same period in 2011 and 4% more than in 2010, which was a record year. Of these, 1.2 million were tourists, 3% more than the same period last year. In May 2012, another record was set, with some 321,000 visitors arriving in Israel, 4% more than the monthly record of 308,000 reached in the months of May 2010 and 2011. About 269,000 tourists - those spending more than one night in Israel - arrived in May 2012, 1% more than the previous record set in May 2011.
Praising the new record, Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov said that "the consistent increase in incoming tourism and the new record highs prove that the investment in the industry contributes to increased income for the economy and creates tens of thousands of new jobs. Against the background of the ongoing global economic crisis, the importance of investment in engines for growth becomes sharper and tourism is a central player in maintaining the robust Israeli economy."