Israel Welcomes Four Millionth Visitor as Tourism Boom Rolls On

Israel’s booming inbound tourism industry was confirmed Sunday when the four millionth visitor for 2018 was welcomed to the Jewish State.

The Israel Tourism Ministry confirmed the arrival in a statement, saying 2018 saw an increase in tourist arrivals of 13 percent compared to 2017, and 38 percent compared to 2016, while overall tourism revenue pumped $6.3 billion into the local economy.

The ministry said the increase is due in part to a global marketing campaign promoting Israel as a travel destination, including in the U.S., Germany, Russia, Italy, England, China, Ukraine, Brazil, and the Philippines. The investment yielded an average increase of 13 percent in the number of tourists from those countries, said the ministry.

The Jerusalem Post reports the four millionth tourist was greeted by Tourist Minister Yariv Levin, who called this influx “the result of a revolution undertaken by the ministry of tourism.”

As Breitbart Jerusalem reported, visitors are drawn to the only functioning liberal pluralist democracy in the Middle East for a variety of reasons, but all share a fascination for its history and its unique place as the safest tourism destination in the region.

Since January 1, arrivals from Europe have soared in comparison to the same period last year, including an increase of approximately 90 percent from Poland, 40 percent from the Czech Republic, Romania and Hungary, and 35 percent from Italy.

Numbers also climbed for tourists from Holland, Germany, Spain and the United States.

Almost 127,400 tourists visited Israel from North America in October alone, including 91,500 from the U.S., more than from any other country that month and 18 percent more than in October 2017.

Levin said he’s “excited by this moment that proves Israel is an attractive tourist destination.”

Jerusalem leads the nation as the most sought-after tourist stop, 40 percent of tourists coming in are landing on return visits and the majority of them are Christians [61 percent] followed by Jewish tourists [22 percent].

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