The legendary mountain fortress of Masada has once again claimed the number one spot in the list of most visited sites in Israel (pay to enter sites). It was there back in 2008, but lost out in 2009 to the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem.
Throughout 2010 however, Masada climbed above the Biblical Zoo and the Ramat Gan Safari to be the most visited pay-to-enter site, according to Dun & Bradstreet Israel. Some 762,000 people visited Masada last year, compared with 718,902 visitors at Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo. Those numbers translate to revenue increases at Masada of 26%, to 34 million shekels.
2010’s third most visited pay-to-enter site was the Caesarea Antiquities National Park, with 698,808 visitors.
Dun & Bradstreet Israel says that the aggregate revenue of Israel’s top ten pay-to-enter tourist sites rose 13% to 143 million shekels in 2010, in what was Israel’s best ever year for tourism.
The top 10 rundown:
- Masada
- Biblical Zoo Jerusalem
- Caesarea Antiquities National Park
- The Hermon National Park (Banias)
- Ramat Gan Safari
- Ein Gedi Nature Reserve
- Hamat Gader hot springs
- Underwater Observatory in Eilat
- Qumran Caves
- Yamit 2000 water park in Holon