Jerusalem more popular than London, Paris and Barcelona!

Without a doubt, any trip to the Holy Land has to include Jerusalem somewhere on the itinerary. We’re big fans of Jerusalem and the Old City here at igoogledisrael; there’s just such an amazing amount of history and wonder all wrapped up in one city, you really can’t visit Israel and not spend at least a day in Jerusalem. I don’t think anyone ever forgets their first time in Jerusalem, no matter how little faith you have…

So, it might not come as a complete surprise that Jerusalem made it into the Top 20, at No. 17, of preferred tourist destinations, according to the tourist magazine Travel+Leisure, in their 14th annual poll. What might come as a surprise was Jerusalem proving more popular than London, Paris and Barcelona, three giants in the tourist industry.

Of course, Jerusalem doesn’t get anything like the numbers these three destinations get, but perhaps it’s time it should. It has obviously proven popular with the Travel+Leisure readers, so maybe it’s time the Holy City was promoted that little bit more. Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat this last week stated that he intended to raise the number of tourists that visit Jerusalem to 10 million a year within the next 10 years, an impressive target and quite probably doable. If you’re thinking about visiting Jerusalem, do it now before the rush starts!

Other surprises in the Top 20 list: most popular was Udaipur in India, otherwise known as “Venice of the East”, which knocked Bangkok off the top spot. And no place for Tel Aviv either, though Tel Aviv was named as the 7th most popular city in the Middle East and Africa.

Here’s the full Top 20 list of most popular cities.