The terrorist attacks in Taba and Ras a-Satan have ended Israeli tourism to Sinai. 5,500 Israelis visited Sinai in November 2004, mostly Israeli Arab tourists during the Id el FitrMuslim holiday, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported today. 17,000 Israelis visited Jordan.
Israeli tourist exits totaled 189,000 in November, including 163,000 by air, 23,000 Israel tourists traveled by land, and 3,000 by sea.
Israeli tourist exits totaled 3.4 million in January-November 2004, 10% more than in the corresponding period last year. Part of the reason for the rise is that few Israelis traveled overseas in early 2003, because of the war in Iraq.
2.7 million Israelis traveled by air, 7% more than in the corresponding period in 2003. 631,000 traveled by land, a 22% increase, compared with January-November 2003. 395,000 Israelis traveled overland to Egypt, and 236,000 to Jordan. The number of Israelis traveling by sea rose 35% to 95,000.
Trend figures for September-November show an annualized 15.4% decline in outgoing Israeli tourism, following an 18% annualized drop in June-August. Outgoing tourism rose by an annualized 10.8% in March-May.
Trend figures indicate that the fall in outgoing tourism by air moderated in September-November, reaching an annualized 3.4%, compared with 14% in June-August.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on December 22, 2004