In a statement today from Israel’s Minister of Tourism, Yariv Levin stated:

In 2018, we have reached an amazing and historic record with over 4.12 million tourists arriving in Israel. We have broken incoming tourism records and this achievement is the direct result of intensive work that we are doing at the Tourism Ministry. This achievement is a result of a revolutionary change in marketing strategy; infrastructure development; opening direct routes from new destinations and creating collaborations with some of the largest travel agents in the world. Incoming tourism makes a huge contribution to both Israel’s economy and its’ image.

His DG, Amir Halevi, added

This is the second consecutive record-breaking year in incoming tourism to Israel and this year we have crossed the threshold of 4 million tourists in a year…… We are optimistic about 2019 that begins with the opening of the new international airport at Timna, that will enable us to continue bringing new flights to Eilat. What was considered a fantasy a few years ago is today a reality

Not bad for a country with no natural borders to Europe or the USA. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, revenue from tourism in 2018 reached about $5.8 billion (about NIS 22 billion).

Apparently, the top six source countries to Israel for incoming tourism are the United States (897,100), France (346,000), Russia (316,000), Germany (262,500), UK (217,900) and Italy (150,600). – those very countries most exposed to the campaigns to boycott Israel.

A statement from the ministry added:

In 2018, leading international market research firm EuroMonitor named Jerusalem as the fastest-growing tourism destination in the world…… In 2018, 61% of all tourists were Christian, 22% were Jews, 12.1% were not affiliated, 1.8% were Muslim, 0.6% were Buddhists, 0.5% were Hindus, and 0.1% were Bahais and 1.7% others.

Here’s to the success of 2019.