134,200 French visitors arrive in the first half of 2005; a 28 per cent increase over the same period last year; significant rises registered from the U.S., Britain, Russia and others Figures released by Israel’s Ministry of Tourism and the Central Bureau of Statistics show a record 17,862 French tourists arrived in June alone, a 39 per cent increase over June 2004. 864,814 foreign tourists arrived in the country in the first six months of 2005, a 27% increase over 2004. „An open skies policy will enable us to increase tourism from France and around the world,” says Israeli Tourism Minister Avraham Hirchson. British tourists numbered 72,628 in the first six months of the year, a six per cent increase over January-June 2004. 29,516 Russian tourists arrived, an 18 per cent rise. The number of American tourists leaped 24 per cent to 221,768. In June alone, 51,491 Americans arrived (up 26 per cent compared to June 2004), 17,862 French (+39%), 12,062 British (+17%) and 4,959 Russians (+16%). Other significant rises registered from in the first six months of the year: Germany (+ 38%); Korea (up 36%); Brazil (+53%), Poland (+150%) and Scandinavia (+25%). A more detailed breakdown by country appears on the following pages. BPI-info
TOURIST ARRIVALS TO ISRAEL (EXC. CRUISE) BY NATIONALITY June June % change January – June % change 2005 2004 2005/04 2005 2004 2005/04 TOTAL 157,331 121,702 29% 864,814 679,346 27% ASIA 13,286 10,640 25% 67,269 53,174 27% ASIA (FAR EAST) 7,078 4,966 43% 39,456 30,075 31% INDIA 1,223 1,082 13% 8,267 6,414 29% MALAYSIA 30 97 -69% 648 221 193% INDONESIA 900 473 90% 3,506 1,798 95% CHINA 296 213 39% 1,811 1,265 43% JAPAN 556 277 101% 3,389 2,927 16% TAIWAN 169 156 8% 1,050 950 11% KOREA 2,445 1,297 89% 14,140 10,416 36% SINGAPORE 778 818 -5% 2,829 2,396 18% THAILAND 111 184 -40% 630 517 22% HONG KONG 63 45 39% 371 203 82% PHILIPPINES 507 324 56% 2,786 1,997 40% ASIA -OTHER 6,208 5,674 9% 27,813 22,686 23% CYPRUS 489 401 22% 4,221 3,022 40% TURKEY 1,293 1,037 25% 8,039 6,422 25% LEBANON 28 26 6% 123 107 14% JORDAN 3,175 3,188 0% 12,024 10,843 11% OTHER 1,223 1,021 20% 3,427 2,461 39% AFRICA 3,281 2,260 45% 25,304 18,998 33% SOUTH AFRICA 1,709 1,135 51% 7,541 5,964 26% EGYPT 402 349 15% 2,154 1,576 37% MOROCCO 196 237 -17% 1,282 1,308 -2% NIGERIA 152 76 101% 9,517 6,782 40% OTHER 823 481 71% 4,812 3,383 42% EUROPE 74,188 55,449 34% 473,705 364,899 30% NORDIC COUNTRIES 3,943 3,322 19% 20,726 16,638 25% FINLAND 577 403 43% 3,782 3,239 17% SWEDEN 1,631 1,464 11% 7,596 6,032 26% NORWAY 703 786 -11% 3,909 3,246 20% DENMARK 1,032 669 54% 5,327 4,075 31% UNITED KINGDOM 12,062 10,333 17% 72,628 68,518 6% IRELAND 429 302 42% 3,823 1,891 102% NETHERLANDS 3,093 2,862 8% 22,608 18,574 22% BELGIUM 1,781 1,468 21% 11,918 10,329 15% FRANCE 17,862 12,858 39% 134,228 105,098 28% ITALY 5,550 2,866 94% 29,843 18,040 65% SWITZERLAND 1,796 1,393 29% 11,904 10,071 18% GERMANY 6,405 5,179 24% 48,175 34,874 38% AUSTRIA 871 729 19% 5,785 5,140 13% SPAIN 3,668 1,725 113% 17,722 9,047 96% PORTUGAL 366 322 14% 2,345 1,347 74% TOTAL CIS 9,026 7,650 18% 50,396 42,737 18% RUSSIA 4,959 4,260 16% 29,516 25,076 18% UKRAINE 2,298 1,793 28% 12,064 10,168 19% BELARUS 487 478 2% 1,998 1,808 11% REP. OF MOLDOVA 215 144 49% 1,032 836 23% UZBEKISTAN 150 250 -40% 926 971 -5% GEORGIA 197 192 3% 1,266 910 39% OTHER CIS 720 533 35% 3,594 2,968 21% LATVIA 261 167 56% 1,347 951 42% POLAND 2,390 809 195% 11,427 4,570 150% HUNGARY 594 504 18% 3,877 2,961 31% FORMER YUGOSLAVIA 294 203 45% 3,088 1,732 78% ROMANIA 820 642 28% 4,408 3,539 25% BULGARIA 258 215 20% 1,441 1,103 31% CZECH REP. 622 255 144% 4,496 2,789 61% SLOVAKIA 888 874 2% 3,304 2,615 26% GREECE 1,009 634 59% 7,525 4,687 61% OTHER 200 137 46% 975 691 41% AMERICA 63,638 50,233 27% 284,064 227,388 25% UNITED STATES 51,491 40,782 26% 221,768 178,175 24% CANADA 4,198 4,017 5% 23,344 19,986 17% MEXICO 2,145 1,017 111% 9,361 5,835 60% CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA 5,804 4,417 31% 29,592 23,254 27% URUGUAY 345 282 22% 1,555 1,377 13% ARGENTINA 1,287 995 29% 7,071 6,093 16% BRAZIL 1,639 1,130 45% 7,539 4,922 53% CHILE 343 292 17% 2,312 2,111 10% COLOMBIA 705 688 2% 3,740 3,122 20% VENEZUELA 299 233 28% 1,209 1,008 20% OCEANIA 2,064 1,569 32% 9,971 8,034 24% AUSTRALIA 1,791 1,361 32% 8,751 6,912 27% NEW ZEALAND 240 194 24% 1,054 1,046 1% OTHER 33 14 133% 166 76 118% NOT KNOWN 1,076 1,128 -5% 4,494 4,610 -3%
BPI-info
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