Tourism boost for Israel

New tourism figures released today by the Israel Government Tourist Office in London reveal that more and more tourists are choosing to visit the Israel as the number of international visitors continues to grow in 2008.

During January and February 2008, a total of 380,760 tourists travelled to Israel on holiday. This number compares to 252,119 during the same period last year and equates to an increase of over 50%.

In Britain, it is also clear that tourists are really starting to see the benefits of Israel’s heady mix of rich culture coupled with exciting city nightlife and beach sun. Again, in January and February of this year, the number of tourists flocking from Britain to Israel rose by over 3500 to 23,396 - an increase of 18%.

Whilst Israel has always been a popular choice for the Jewish community, the launch of new low-cost flights from Thomsonfly and a new route with BMI has meant that the country is now even more accessible to all than ever before.

Uzi Gafni, Director of the Israel Tourist Board says: “We are absolutely delighted with these new figures and in particular, we are excited to see that Britons continue to be fascinated by Israel and that more and more of them are now able to experience it for themselves. Traditionally, travel to Israel has not always been as convenient as it could have been, however new travel options mean that the country has now opened up to the everyday tourist and with flight times of just five hours, there couldn’t be a better time to visit”.