Jerusalem touted by top travel site

A leading travel website listed Jerusalem as one of the top locations to visit due to its history and culture.

TripAdvisor put the capital in fourth place in a list of the “top ten destinations on the rise” worldwide.

The announcement came as Israel’s Tourism Ministry announced record-breaking numbers of tourists in the country for the first quarter of 2014.

Among the reasons listed by TripAdvisor to visit the city are its “profound cultural and historical significance.”

“The year 2014 began with the momentum of a record-breaking year for incoming tourism in 2013,” said Tourism Minister Uzi Landau.

Some 302,000 visitors came to Israel during March and 776,000 tourists arrived since the beginning of the year, an increase of 3% over the same period in 2013. The first quarter figures have steadily increased over the past three years, the ministry noted.

The Tourism Ministry reported in January that 2013 saw a record number of tourists coming to the country, and that Jerusalem was the most-visited city.

According to the figures a record 3.54 million tourists entered the country in 2013, half a percent more than in 2012.

Jerusalem saw 75% of tourists passing through it during their trips to Israel. The most-visited site was the Western Wall, with 68% of tourists stopping there.

The majority of tourists visiting Israel in 2013 were Christian — 53%, half of those Catholic. Twenty-eight percent were Jewish.