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Record number of tourists entered Israel in 2018

Inbound tourism reached 4.1 million in 2018, breaking the previous record from 2017.

The Tel Aviv beach and promenade, July 30, 2012. Credit: Israel Tourism Bureau via Wikimedia Commons.
The Tel Aviv beach and promenade, July 30, 2012. Credit: Israel Tourism Bureau via Wikimedia Commons.

Incoming tourism reached an all-time high in 2018, the Central Bureau of Statistics said in a new report on Thursday.

Some 4.1 million tourists visited Israel last year, marking a 14 percent increase compared to 2017, which was also a record year.

Likewise, the number of foreign tourists who stayed overnight at a hotel increased by 10 percent compared to the previous year.

“We can say that 2018 was a record-breaking year, with an unprecedented level of incoming tourists,” Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said in statement. “This accomplishment is a direct result of the laborious effort undertaken by my ministry, as well as the revolutionary way in which we have presented Israel abroad, the inauguration of new flights to Israel and the collaboration with the biggest tourist agencies around the world.”

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