According to statistics the Tourism Ministry provided on Wednesday, there have still not been enough tourists to the Jewish state to reach pre-COVID levels.
According to the ministry, 1.97 million tourists visited Israel in the first half of 2023 and spent 11.7 billion shekels ($3.16 billion).
These figures fall short of the comparable period in 2019, which was a record year for Israeli tourism.
Additionally, it was the final full year of overseas travel before 2020, when coronavirus travel restrictions will take effect.
2.26 million tourists visited Israel in the first half of this year.
By the conclusion of the year, 8.46 billion shekels ($2.2 billion) had been spent by 4.9 million tourists in Israel.
The government claimed that since Russia invaded Ukraine, travel to and from those countries has dramatically decreased.
Russia was the second-largest source of tourists before the war, only after the United States.
3.9 million visitors are anticipated by the end of the year, according to the ministry’s projections based on current data.
Tourism Minister Haim Katz remarked, “Israel is attractive and offers a wealth of experiences.
In order to fully maximize the potential for tourism, I will seek to lower the obstacles to entry into the nation by accelerating infrastructure development and increasing the number of hotel rooms.
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