As of April 2018, a record-breaking 1.36 million tourists visited Israel despite the political and security tensions that are happening in the country.

Israel’s tourism from January to April 2018 reaped 25 percent more profits in comparison to the respective months in 2017.

In April alone, the Ministry of Tourism said that the projected revenue had surpassed NIS 2.1 billion. They recorded 408,000 tourists entering Israel, making an increase of 17 percent with respect to its 2017 counterpart.

“Tourism continues to contribute significantly to the Israeli economy and the labor market,” said Tourism Minister Yariv Levin.

Reason Behind the Tourism Boost
The increase of Israel’s tourism and the number of people looking and booking for Tel Aviv flights can be because of the Ministry of Tourism’s significant marketing efforts and innovative measures to sustain and enhance the tourism sector. They’ve also promoted infrastructure investments despite the security tensions within the country.

Minister of Tourism Yariv Levin said that the opening of direct air routes and new markets in countries like India and Brazil have contributed a greatly to the rising number of tourists going to Israel.

During the month of March 2018, tourists from Poland showed the largest increase with its 136 percentage, followed by Sweden (90%), Germany (55%), and the United States (33%).

European and American Tourists Going to Israel
Out of the 408,000 tourists who visited Israel, 238,000 of them were visitors from European countries like the United Kingdom, Germany and France. Tourists from Italy, totalling to 15,000, were all expected by the Ministry of Tourism because of their campaign the during the Giro d’Italia events. An estimated 500 million people around the world have watched it.

About 105,000 of the April 2018 record were from the North America; 80,000 of which were from the U and around 14,000 were from the South and Central America continents.

Travellers from Asian countries such as China and India were only 35,700. Although it was still small, but the record was 32 percent more than the number of guests from April 2017. 

Why Tourists Love to Go to Israel

Why tourists still choose to travel to Israel despite the political conflicts and tension?

A Career Israel recipient and a citizen from New York in the United States, Sam Shatzkin, has been travelling from and to Israel for seven times now. Despite the fact that he has no family residing in Israel, his Israeli friends felt like home to him and that keeps him on coming back to the country.

Adam Aber is a frequent Canadian traveller and has visited many countries around the globe. He is doing his short-term internship in Tel Aviv under the program Onward Israel. His longing for the outdoors, his love for adventure and discovering new cultures and food, and his yearning to rewire his Jewish identity have pushed him to experience life in Israel.

Lastly, another Canadian tourist in the name of Alex Lam, is presently enjoying his second trip to the country. He plans to visit and explore major cities and famous landmarks. His love for travelling led him to visit Israel.