That’s 14 percent higher than the previous record of about 3 million tourists in 2008, according to Bloomberg. Due to the global financial crisis, tourism in Israel was on a downward slope last year, while Israeli-Palestinian violence over the last decade saw tourist numbers plummet. Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov outlined the sources of the recent influx. About one-fifth of the tourists came from the United States, followed by visitors from Russia, France, the United Kingdom and Germany. More than two-thirds were Christian and 23 percent were Jewish, according to Mr Misezhnikov. The ministry expects to have final 2010 numbers in January. |
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Source = e-Travel Blackboard: P.T