Yep, the Holy Land still keeps pulling ’em in – July 2012 saw yet another increase in tourism stats with some 296,000 visitors arriving in Israel during the month!
According to figures released by the Central Bureau of Statistics, the July numbers set a new record for the month of July, with an 8% increase on last year, and an increase of 6% on July 2010.
Overall, the most number of tourists came from the United States (almost 70,000), outdoing the second-placed Russians who sent over some 30,000 tourists and the UK in third spot with some 14,000 visitors to Israel.
And how much are all these tourists worth to the Israeli economy? Well, the average tourist spends US$1320 during his stay in Israel. That’s enough for quite a few portions of felafel and hummus!
Our pal over at the Tourism Ministry, Minister Stas Misezhnikov, was a happy bunny yet again and even pledged to bring more much-needed hotel rooms to the tourism sector, which will hopefully reduce costs for all visitors to Israel (and even the locals). Yep, there is now even an official Committee to Reduce the Cost of Vacations!!
Given the constant increase in demand, there is an urgent need for more hotel rooms that will increase competition in the industry and lead to a decrease in the cost of accommodation for both tourists and Israelis. The Committee to Reduce the Cost of Vacations, whose conclusions will be published at the end of this month, are also of the opinion that an increase in the hotel room supply is urgently required.