Israel’s tourism ministry said Sunday it expects the papal visit later this month to give a sharp boost to tourism by Christians, who already account for a majority of tourism to the Holy Land.
“As a result of the visit to the Holy Land by Pope Francis, who is such a popular figure and significant leader for the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics, the ministry estimates an increase of tens of thousands in the numbers of Christians visiting Israel,” the ministry said.
“Christian tourism, which accounts for about 60 percent of all incoming tourism, is expected to increase by about 10 percent in 2014,” it said.
It added that 2013 was a record year for tourism to Israel, with 3.54 million entries logged.
It said Jews made up 22 percent of the visitors, with Roman Catholics, at 26 percent, the largest of the Christian denominations.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
The ministry said the May 25-26 visit of Pope Francis would be streamed live on a dedicated website, www.holyland-pilgrimage.org, to enable Christians worldwide to follow the visit.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
