Well, it looked on the cards throughout the year, but now it’s official: 2013 was a record-breaking year for tourism to Israel! Oh yes, some 3.54 million tourists visited the Holy Land in 2013!
And to cap off the year in style, December 2013 was a record breaker in itself, with some 272,000 visitors!
Some interesting numbers (from the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics) from a record-breaking year:
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The Top 5 origin countries: USA, Russia, France, Germany, and the UK.
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53% of tourists were Christian, with half of those Catholics.
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28% of tourists were Jewish.
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2.6 million arrived by air (73%), an increase of 4% on 2012.
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54% of tourists were first time visitors.
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Jerusalem was the city most visited (by 75%).
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The Western Wall was the tourist attraction most visited (by 68%).
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Tourist satisfaction levels were officially rated at 4.3 (excellent).
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Tourists didn’t feel they got “value for money”, rating Israel only 3/5.
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Some 9.7 million bed nights were spent in Israeli hotels by tourists.
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Revenue from tourism in 2013 totals some $5 billion.
For all those thinking about joining the party, here are TEN reasons why you really should…and the video below is a superb taster of what awaits. Quite possibly the best 4 minutes you’ll spend today!