Jerusalem is world’s fastest growing tourist destination

Jerusalem is the world’s fastest-growing tourism destination, a report by London-based market research company Euromonitor International.

According to the report, incoming tourism to the Israeli capital is set to grow by 38% in 2018, courtesy of “relative stability and a strong marketing push.” Tourism in the city grew by 32% in 2017, the company said.

Globally, inbound tourist arrivals are set to grow by 5% to 1.4 billion trips in 2018. The world’s top 100 city destinations outperformed global arrivals growth, witnessing a 7.5% increase in arrivals, underlining the growing importance of major cities for the global travel industry.

Although Israeli tourism is thriving, the Middle East and North Africa have witnessed a downturn in tourism, with cities including Djerba and Sousse in Tunisia, and Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt dropping out of the top 100 city destinations in recent years “mainly due to terrorist attacks and subsequent slumping demand.” Cairo has bucked the trend, however, by welcoming an 11.5% increase in visitors.

According to the Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, approximately 389,000 tourist entries were recorded last month in Israel, an increase of 9% in comparison with November 2017 and 35% more than November 2016.

In mid-November, the number of incoming tourists surpassed last year’s record of 3.6 million and the figure now stands at an unprecedented 3.8 million. The four millionth visitor is expected to land in the coming weeks.

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