Israel welcomed 3.1 million tourists from abroad in 2015, 35 down on the previous year, the Ministry of Tourism and Central Bureau of Statistics reports. Tourism sources feel that these figures were encouraging considering the shadow cast by Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014 and the upswing in terrorist attacks in the final four months of the year.
Overseas tourists generated revenue of NIS 9.9 billion in 2015.
The largest number of tourists, 20% or 586,000 came from the US, followed by Russia and France. 77% of tourists spent time in Jerusalem and 69% visited Tel Aviv.
The lower incoming tourism figures were balanced out by Israelis who spent 5.9 million overnight stays in Israeli hotels and guesthouses, up 8% from 2014.
Israelis also traveled abroad more last year. There was a record 5.16 million Israeli exits abroad, up 13% compared with 4.55 million in 2014.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 3, 2016
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