The tourism crisis plaguing the world has not passed over Israel. The number of annual visitors to Israel dropped below one million for the first time in 20 years last year, with only 862,300 tourists entering the country. On the other hand, an upswing was noted as the number of arrivals in December 2002, 92,400, was 13% more than in the same month of 2001. The resort city of Eilat, whose economy is very dependent on tourism, is suffering from the extended drop in visitors, and between 400 and 600 businesses, out of 1,500 in the city, have closed in the past year.



Almost 24 out of every 100 visitors last year came from the U.S., almost 14 from France, and over 11 from England.