Israel
Tourism
Tourism has always been an important source of foreign currency
for Israel. In 1984 this industry earned US$1.08 billion. The
Israeli airlines earned an additional US$210 million in touristrelated
business. In 1986, 929,631 tourists arrived by air and 18,252
arrived by sea. Another 17,563 tourists arrived from Jordan by
land via the Allenby Bridge. Sixty percent of total 1986 tourists
originated in Europe, an additional 20 percent originated in the
United States.
Although the 1986 figures are respectable, they represent a decline
by 13 percent over the preceding three years. Moreover, the 1986
figure for American tourists is 41 percent lower than comparable
figures for the years 1983 through 1985. This decline in tourism
to Israel in 1986 reflected a general decline in American tourism
to the Middle East, which was caused by security considerations
and by a weakening of the United States dollar against European
currencies.
Data as of December 1988
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