Tourism to Israel continues to rise, for the third straight year.
Figures released by the Ministry of Tourism and the Central Bureau of Statistics show that the number of tourists over the past ten months is 27% more than during the same period last year. Large increases were registered at the air, sea and land crossings. The number of travelers arriving at Ben Gurion International Airport rose by 23%, while the number of those arriving on direct flights to Eilat increased by 30%.
In October alone, 164,400 tourists entered Israel - a 28% increase over October 2004.
The trend of increasing tourism to Israel thus continues for the third straight year. Last year's total was approximately 1.5 million, following totals of 1.06 million in 2003 and 0.86 million in 2002. The peak of over 2.4 million, registered in the pre-Oslo War year of 2000, has still not been reached, but Tourism Minister Avraham Hirschson says he expects to surpass this number in 2007.
Last year, 379,000 tourists arrived from the U.S., compared with 272,000 the year before. From France, the numbers were 257,000 and 174,000, respectively. The increase from Great Britain was from 104,000 to 146,000. From Canada, the increase was particularly dramatic - from 31,000 to 44,000.
Israel's Tourism Ministry's motto is: "Israel - No One Belongs Here More Than You."