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| More tourists, higher revenues in 2005 Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Tourism
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Sharp rise in tourism to Israel
328,000 tourists visited Israel between January and June 2005, representing a 73 percent increase over 2004
Ynet
In the first six months of 2005, the number of tourists visiting Israel for the first time was 328,000, a 73 percent increase over last year’s figure of 190,000. During the first half of this year, the number of tourists coming to Israel for touring and sightseeing doubled from 75,000 to 156,000, and revenues from incoming tourism were USD 1.1 billion, a 23 percent increase over the same period last year. These figures come from a Ministry of Tourism survey published this week.
The ministry interviewed 11,000 tourists for the survey. The survey results indicate that 156,000 Catholic tourists visited the country in the first half of 2005, a 91 percent increase over the first half of 2004.
104,000 Protestant tourists came, a 39 percent increase, and 104,000 other Christians visited Israel, a 53 percent increase. The number of Jewish tourists rose by 5 percent to 371,000, and the number of tourists with no religious affiliation or were members other religions was 130,000, a 27 percent increase over the first half of 2004.
The survey also showed that the number of pilgrims coming to Israel from January to June 2005 doubled from 68,000 to 138,000, that there was a 36 percent increase in business tourism, and that the number of people on organized tours doubled from 88,000 to 181,600.
Tourism Minister Abraham Hirchson noted that “we are in the midst of an economic revolution of the first order. Tourism has turned into a major catalyst for growth in Israel’s economy. These statistics show that the ministry’s marketing efforts are paying off, and that tourism is a major revenue resource for all strata of Israeli society.”
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