Rise in tourist entries
צילום: דלית שחם
2008: Record year in tourist entries to Israel
Some 2 million visits to Israel recorded since beginning of year, a 37% rise compared to the same period in 2007; July, August see 1.1 million departures by Israelis
It looks like 2008 is going to be a record year both in terms of Israelis' departures abroad and tourists' entries to Israel.
According to data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), some 2 million visits by tourists to Israel have been recorded since the beginning of the year, a 37% rise compared to the same period in 2007.
Some 1.4 entries were recorded via air, a 23% rise compared to the previous year.
The leading countries in the number of incoming tourists are the United States, Russia and France. The preferred destinations by the Israeli tourists are Turkey and the US.
A growth was also recorded this year in the number of Israelis leaving the country, despite the slowdown in the State's economic activity.
According to the CBS data, some 1.1 million departures by Israelis were registered in July and August, a slight rise of only 0.4%, but 897,000 of these departures were via air, a 3% rise compared to the summer of 2007.
There was no growth in the number of departures by land to Jordan and Egypt, while a drop of 38% was recorded in departures by sea.
According to the CBS, 24% of Israelis who left the country during the summer months were children under the age of 14.
Some 2.9 million departures of Israelis abroad were recorded since the beginning of the year, a 5% rise via air compared to the same period in 2007.
