Israel Posts Strong Results

Israel is reporting that visitations from the United States have surpassed pre-pandemic levels, with U.S. arrivals growing by 12% during the first half of 2023, compared to the same period in 2019. In addition, last month visitors from the U.S. increased by 13% compared to the same month in 2019, signaling that the country once again is seeing significant growth.

As for Canada, arrivals from this country to Israel grew by 33% from June 2022 to June 2023.

Eyal Carlin, Commissioner of Tourism to North America, said of the results: “These statistics are extremely encouraging. Between March of 2020 and May of 2022, our country was closed to incoming tourism. Since we reopened and people are traveling in droves, we expect 2023 to be a banner year for Israel, especially from North America; even better than what we saw in 2019, which was our best year to date.”

June 2023, which had a 27% increase over the previous year, saw the most tourists arrive from the United States followed by France, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. These numbers don’t include day visitors or passengers arriving on cruise ships.

Said Carlin: “As a country, we are heavily investing in tourism,” added Carlin. “New hotels and resorts are helping to increase our room inventory while new food, wine and spirits destinations add to the overall excitement along with our many outdoor adventure opportunities as well as arts and culture experiences. Travelers are still arriving in Israel to experience what we’re known for—our holy and ancient sites—but they return home with their expectations exceeded as they discover some of the lesser-known destinations.”