Two months ago Israeli officials reported that a record-breaking number of tourists were visiting the country. The exact figures on the boost that those tourists were providing to the Israeli economy, however, hadn’t yet been worked out.

Israel’s Tourism Ministry recently took its victory lap:

“In recent years, revenue from incoming tourism has risen by over $1 billion,” says Tourism Minister Uzi Landau. “Tourists are voting with their feet throughout the year and we welcome them.[“]

“The Tourism Ministry will continue to work at full speed to maintain and strengthen this upward trend, both cultivating existing markets and breaking into new markets. It is not only the tourists that benefit. The State benefits as well with increased revenue in the economy and the creation of new jobs in the periphery.”

A full 80% of those surveyed said that they would return to Israel.

Behind the scenes, Israel is emerging as a global leader in tourism innovation. A conference recently held in Jerusalem focused on the topic, and included figures ranging from American Jewish philanthropist Sheldon Adelson to Waze co-founder Uri Levine. Waze was recently purchased by Google for over one billion dollars.

Israel’s increasing prominence in the tourism industry, to say nothing of its raw tourism numbers, aligns poorly with claims made by anti-Israel partisans that the Jewish state is increasingly isolated economically and culturally.

[Photo: Melissa Weiss / The Israel Project]