Travel News

Israel enjoys booming tourism

Israel has welcomed more international visitors this year, despite ongoing troubles in the country as a result of its conflict with Palestine.

Figures released by the Israeli Tourist Office in London showed that some 380,760 tourists visited the Middle Eastern country in January and February 2008.

This is a substantial increase of more than 50 per cent on the 252,119 people that Israel welcomed in the first two months of 2007.

Some 23,396 British travellers headed to Israel in January and February this year, 18 per cent more than 12 months earlier.

The tourist office attributed the change to factors including Israel's "heady mix of rich culture coupled with exciting city nightlife and beach sun" as well as new flights with airlines including Thomsonfly and bmi.

Uzi Gafni, director of the Israel Tourist Board, said: "We are absolutely delighted with these new figures and in particular, we are excited to see that Britons continue to be fascinated by Israel and that more and more of them are now able to experience it for themselves.

"Traditionally, travel to Israel has not always been as convenient as it could have been, however new travel options mean that the country has now opened up to the everyday tourist and with flight times of just five hours, there couldn't be a better time to visit."

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