The new record, set on Friday, comes on the heels of another achievement reached in October - the record all-time month for incoming tourism.
By EYTAN HALONUpdated: NOVEMBER 19, 2018 02:36Tourists bathe at the shore of the Dead Sea, Israel July 17, 2018. Picture taken July 17, 2018.(photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)
The number of incoming tourists surpassed last year’s record of 3.6 million on Friday, and the Tourism Ministry is projecting entries will exceed four million by December 31.For the country’s domestic tourism industry, that translates into NIS 18 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.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.
