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Thursday, January 9, 2014 |
Annual tourism report, all time record for Israel |
Annual tourism report, all time record for Israel 9 January 2014 DECEMBER 2013 Domestic tourism - 16.7 million nights (all types of accommodation); 3% = increase. Leading source countries for incoming tourism: Most visited city by incoming tourists 53% of incoming tourists were Christian; half of them Catholic Tourist satisfaction levels reached 4.3 out of 5. in entertainment and night life and accommodation facilities Trend in tourist accommodation from tourist hotels to other types of = accommodation (other hotels, youth hostels, Christian hostels and vacation = rentals/ownership) Tourism's contribution to the economy in 2013 - NIS 40 billion. employees. Israel Ministry of Tourism Tourism Minister Dr. Uzi Landau: "The year 2013 is a record year for touris= and we are proud of that. Despite Operation Pillar of Defense and the = security situation in the region, tourists voted with their feet. The = Tourism Ministry will continue to invest in maintaining the numbers of = tourists arriving in Israel, by opening new markets and actively marketing = the tourism product around the world. I wish all tourists a happy 2014." DECEMBER 2013 STATISTICS: ALL TIME RECORD WITH 24% INCREASE IN TOURIST = ENTRIES AND 14% MORE VISITOR ENTRIES According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, 272,000 visitors entered = Israel in December 2013, 14% more than December 2012 and !% and 3% higher = respectively than December 2010 and 2011. Of these visitor entries, 241,00= were tourists (staying more than one night), 24% more than December 2012, = and 12% and 11% more than December 2010 and 2011 - an all-time record for = the month. December was still registering a decrease in day visitors across = the Egypt-Israel border as a result of the instability in Egypt. The = decrease of 14% was less than that recorded in November. 211,000 entries were by air, 22% more than December 2012, of which 7,000 = arrived on direct flights to Eilat (27% more than December 2012) . 30,000 = came through the border crossings, 33% more than December 2012; 22,000 came = through the border with Jordan (27% increase) and about 7,800 through Taba = to Eilat (50% more than last December). 31,000 entries were recorded by day visitors, 29% less than December 2012. = Of these, 12,000 arrived on cruise ships (47% less than last December). = 16,000 day visitors arrived via the land crossings (14% decrease on last = year) and about 2,500 by air (9% more than last year). Below: Tourism Statistics for 2013 - a record year for incoming tourism TOURISM STATISTICS 2013 3.54 million visitors to Israel arrived in Israel in 2013, half a percent = more than the previous record year of 2012. The number of tourist entries = (not including day visitors) totaled about 2.9 million entries, a 3% = increase compared to 2012. (There has been an average increase of 2.5% sinc= 2008, both in visitor and tourist entries.) The year 2013 was characterized by stability throughout the year, with smal= increases in the months March-June 2013 and small decreases in the months = July-September 2013, followed by more increases in October - December 2013. 1. Tourism by mode of travel Out of 3.5 million visitors, 2.6 million arrived by air (73%), an increase = of 4% compared to 2012. About 381,000 came through the land borders (11%), = decrease of 6% compared to 2012. 578,000 entries (16%) were day visitors, a = decrease of 9%: of these 257,000 came on cruise ships, an increase of 2% = compared to 2012. 2. Tourism by Country of Origin (visitors, including day visitors and cruis= ships) As in previous years, tourism from the USA continued to represent the = largest country of origin for incoming tourism to Israel, with 623,000 = visitors arriving in 2013, (representing 18% of all incoming tourism), 1% = more than 2012. In second place and with a very small margin is tourism fro= Russia with 603,000 visitors, 3% more than 2012. Tourism from France takes = third place, with about 315,000 visitors (5% more than last year), followed = by Germany (254,000; 6% more than 2012) and the United Kingdom with 217,000 = visitors each, 5% more than 2012. Other countries worthy of note: Italy with 173,000 visitors, 2% more than = last year; Ukraine with 134,000 visitors, 3% decrease compared to 2012; = Poland, 89,000 visitors, 13% less than last year; 72,000 visitors from = Canada (2% down on last year); from the Netherlands 57,000 visitors (down = 16%) and 53,000 from Spain (6% decrease). 3. Leading Countries of Origin (tourists, excluding day and cruise = visitors): In first place, USA with 597,000 tourists, 2% more than last year. In secon= place and with a wide margin, Russia with 405,000, 6% more than last year. = In third place, France with 292,000, (11% more than 2012). In fourth place, = UK with 173,000 followed by Germany with 160,000, Italy with 128,000, = Ukraine with 108,000, Poland with 67,000, Canada with 65,000 and Brazil = with 54,000. 4. Tourism to Israel: Characteristics* Catholic), 28% Jewish tourism, with the remaining of other religious = denominations or non affiliated. travel, 9% as vacation and leisure. Overall, 58% defined their visit for = tourism purposes, 26% visited friends or relatives and 8% came for business = or to attend conventions. and 4% stayed at youth hostels or religious hostels. 3% stayed in rented or = owned apartments. 5. Sites/Cities Visited* all tourists). Tel Aviv-Jaffa holds second place with 64% of all tourists = having visited and in third place, the Dead Sea area with 51%. Tiberias = holds fourth place with 44% of all tourists followed by Nazareth with 35%. The most visited sites include the Western Wall (68%), the Jewish Quarter i= Jerusalem (64%), the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (57%) and the Via Doloros= (55%) and the Mount of Olives (53%). * Source: Inbound Tourism Survey, Jan-June 2013 6. Tourist Satisfaction excellent (4.3 out of 5 =96 excellent). Services that received a high ratin= included: archeological sites (4.4); tour guides (4.3); organized tours = (4.2); personal security (4.1), nature and the environment and airport = facilities (4). Among those services which did not rate so highly: tax-free = shopping (3.3), taxis (3.2), disabled access in tourist sites (3.2) and = value for money (3). There was an improvement registered in the following: = attitude of the public; entertainment/nightlife; accommodation facilities. 6. Hotels rooms. 72 hotels with 9,500 rooms operated in Jerusalem, 50 hotels with = 11,000 rooms in Eilat, 55 hotels with 7,100 rooms in the Tel Aviv area, 15 = hotels in the Dead Sea area with over 4,000 rooms and 48 hotels with 6,300 = rooms in the Tiberias and Sea of Galilee area. 22.5 million bed nights were registered in these hotels through 2013, a = slight increase (1%) on 2012. About 42% of these were from incoming tourist= (9.7 million bed nights, 1% less than 2012). Since 2008, there has been a = trend in tourist bed nights, away from tourist hotels into other = accommodation (youth hostels, Christian hostels and privately-owned/rented = apartments). About 12.8 million bed nights (58% of the total) were from = Israelis, an increase of 3% on 2012. 6. Domestic Tourism About 16.7 million domestic overnight stays were registered in 2012 in all = the various types of accommodation, 3% more than last year. There was an = increase of 3% in hotel stays (13.7 million overnight stays). Rural tourism = registered 1.9 million bed nights (1% less than 2012), 760,000 Israeli bed = nights in youth hostels (9% increase), 339,000 in field schools (1% less = than 2012). It should be noted that there was a 9% increase in the numbers of Israelis = traveling overseas in 2013 (4.7 million) as compared to 2012. Of those = Israelis, 4.3 million traveled overseas by air (10% increase), with a = decrease of 3% in those traveling by land (to Egypt and Jordan). This = decrease was in large part due to the 5% decrease in Israelis traveling to = Egypt. 7. Tourism's contribution to the Israeli economy Revenue from incoming tourism in 2013 (including the income of the Israeli = aviation companies from inbound tourism) totals about $5 billion or 18.2 = billion NIS (a decrease of 8% - largely due to the decrease in the dollar = rate in 2013 compared to 2012). Revenue from domestic tourism in 2013 = totals about 12 billion NIS (2% more than in 2012), with another NIS 9 = billion from outgoing tourism, a slight increase on last year. Total revenu= from tourism in 2013 is estimated at about 40 billion NIS, a slight decreas= on 2012. The number of employees in the Israeli economy as a result of tourism = activities totals about 100,000 in 2013, approximately one third of whom ar= employed in hotels. The total number of employees related to the tourism = industry (direct and indirect) stands at about 195,000, 6% of all employees = in Israel. ________________________________________ For free regular subscription: For free daily digest subscription: IMRA is now also on Twitter |
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