Strong Shekel Sends Israelis Traveling Abroad In Record Numbers

Tourism record made in July with 777,500 Israelis leaving the country to see the world, a record likely to be broken in August.

By Moshe Cohen

 

Israelis set a tourism record in July – one that is likely to be broken in August. The strong shekel and weak dollar and euro means that Israelis can get a good vacation deal in the U.S. or Europe, and more Israelis than ever are doing just that.

Israeli passport – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

According to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, 777,500 Israelis left the country to travel abroad – 20.9% more than the 673,000 in July 2013, the previous record month.

According to projections by the CBS, the July record is likely to be broken in August, with as many as 800,000 Israelis expected to holiday abroad.

P1020564

Israel’s Arkia Airline at Eilat airport – IsraelandStuff/PP

The vast majority of those travelers exited the country via Ben-Gurion Airport, but more were going to Sinai as well. The total number of Israelis leaving the country via land exits to Jordan or Sinai was 49,800, 35% more than in July 2014. This, despite the ongoing attacks against tourists in Sinai by radical Islamist groups.

Not only is July a record month for Israeli travel abroad; 2015 has been a record year altogether so far. Since the beginning of the year, 3.15 million exits were recorded at the country’s borders, 11.8% more than in 2014, and 22.6% more than in 2013.

 

View original Arutz Sheva publication at: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/199230#.VcfJ4XihDFI