August tourism numbers jump 10% over last year
298,000 visitors entered Israel last month
Young tourists cover themselves with mud as they visit the Dead Sea on August 16, 2012. (photo credit: Gershon Elinson/Flash90)
A record number of 2.3 million visitors arrived in Israel during the period January through August, a 7% increase as compared with last year and 5% more than the record year of 2010, the Tourism Ministry announced on Monday.
Of these entries, a record 1.9 million were tourists, a 4% increase compared with the same period in 2011 and a 7% increase as compared with 2010, the ministry said. It also reported a 26% increase over 2011 in day visitors.
In August alone, 298,000 visitors entered the country – a 10% increase as compared with August 2011 and 7% more than in August 2010. Of these visitors, a record 248,000 were tourists, a 10% increase as compared with August 2011. The number of cruise ship visitors jumped 39% over the previous year.
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