BENDERRAnews, 5/6/18 (Yerusalem): Following news that Israel has barred Indonesian passport holders from entering the country, it has become interesting to review the tourism situation in the Middle Eastern country.
As reported by kompas.com, Israel received its highest ever number of tourist visits in 2017, welcoming up to 3.6 million people who visited its sandy beaches and sacred places. Around 41 percent of the aforementioned number were those who had visited the country before.
Interestingly, according to the country’s Tourism Ministry data, Indonesian tourists are said to be the biggest spenders on average during their stay in Israel, spending around US$310 a day, excluding airfare.
Meanwhile, tourists on average reportedly spend around $1,600 throughout their stay in Israel.
Last year, around 36,300 Indonesians visited the country, an increase of 24 percent compared to previous year.
According to Melisa Agustina from Mala Tours, which offers trips from Indonesia to Israel and Palestine, tourists usually spent between five and seven days in the country.
Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said the top five contributors of citizens visiting Israel were the United States, Russia, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Up to 54 percent of its tourists were Catholics and 25 percent came for pilgrimage purposes to the country’s sacred sites.
“Only around one-fifth of the tourists were Jewish people; the rest observed other religions,” said Levin as quoted by The Jerusalem Post.
The cities of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Tiberias as well as the Dead Sea and Sea of Galilee are among the most popular sites that tourists flocked to. Thats according of ‘The Jakarta Post’. Foto: The Leaning Tower erected by Zahir al-Umar in Tiberias, Israel, from Shutterstock/File. (B-JP/jr)
