The annual figure represents an increase of 12.5% compared to 2022, and a decrease of 34% from 2019.
The visit to Saudi Arabia comes as Israel and Saudi Arabia continue efforts to reach a normalization agreement and as Saudi's Nayef Al-Sudairi is credentialed as ambassador to the PA.
The protest movements announced they would launch a series of disruptive actions starting on Saturday night.
According to Eyal Carlin, consul commissioner for North America, 40% of Israel tourism comes from the US.
The decision follows lengthy discussions about the state budget between Katz and the Finance Ministry, which had hoped to increase state revenue.
After lengthy discussions that ended hours before Shabbat, the government approved the budget for next year.
The Tourism Ministry's Development Budget Committee approved a budget that includes the establishment of dozens of public tourism infrastructure projects.
An unreal number of tourists came to Israel in 2022, injecting NIS 13.5 billion into the economy.
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