There was a 16% rise in the number of tourists coming to Israel in November 2019 compared to the same time a year before, numbers released on Tuesday showed.
Compared to November 2017, the current numbers were about 40% higher, with a total of 451,000 tourists visiting the country in November 2019.
The November numbers pushed the yearly tourist rate to the highest ever in the country for the first eleven months of 2019. So far this year, over 4.2 million tourists came to the country. By the end of November 2018, that figure was 3.8 million, itself a record number at the time. So far, tourism has increased overall by 10.7% in 2019 compared to 2018.
Of those visiting in November, about 378,000 tourists arrived by plane, 15.5% more than in November 2018. 73,500 entered through land border facilities, 19.5% more than in November 2018 and 45.3% more than in November 2017. 51,700 of those entered Israel for a single day before returning to Jordan or Egypt, compared to 30,400 in November 2018 and 29,000 in November 2017.
To quote Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, “I am happy that we are again coming close to the record of the number of tourists entering the country in a single year. I expect that we will finish the year with an additional half million tourists, which will put us over the top. Incoming tourism contributed NIS 21 billion to the economy so far this year, and increased Israel’s standing in the world.”
Tags: Israel
