ISRAEL TOURISM HITS ALL-TIME HIGH IN OCTOBER 2009
| New York - November 18, 2009: Tourism to Israel hit an all-time high of 333,000 travelers in the month of October, a 9% increase from the same period last year, which was the previous record-high for travel to Israel. Also, Israel saw a 20% increase in cruise travel with 23,500 tourists arriving on cruise ships, and a 6% increase in the number of tourists who visited Israel and stayed for a minimum of one night compared with October 2008. "We are thrilled to see such a large increase in travelers to Israel in October 2009 during this important tourist time," says Arie Sommer, Commissioner of Tourism, North and South America. "And we are encouraged by signs that the trend will continue throughout the December holiday season, bringing us a robust end to 2009." A total of 1,068,121 travelers passed through Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv this October, a 1.5% increase compared to the same period last year. For more information about travel to Israel, visit www.goisrael.com. |
