Travelers at Ben Gurion Airport
צילום: אבי מועלם
August sees record number of overseas travels
Some 590,700 Israelis traveled abroad last month, Central Bureau of Statistics says. Greece replaces Turkey as popular travel destination
Despite travel agents' concerns, the people of Israel do not appear to have lost their appetite for overseas travels and have scored a new all time record of visits abroad.
According to data published by the Central Bureau of Statistics, some 590,700 Israelis traveled overseas in the month of August, the highest monthly rate since the country's inception. Some 500,000 traveled by air, 60,000 by land and 30,000 by sea, onboard cruise ships.
The ongoing boycott of Turkey as a travel destination has not discouraged Israelis from enjoying the Mediterranean and they have found other alternatives, the most prominent of which is Greece.
The Mediterranean country has seen a 75% increase in Israeli visits. Travels to the island of Kos have climbed 492% compared with August 2009, while Thessaloniki saw a 263% rise. Crete and Rhodes scored a 78% increase.
Israeli visits to Bulgaria's city of Burgas rose by 80%; Barcelona - 40%.
The months January-August saw 2.9 million Israelis traveling abroad, making 2010 a record year in oversees travels with a 6.8% increase compared with the same period last year.
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