Israel’s Tourism Ministry says it has posted record levels for tourism for June and the first half of 2017: 303,000 tourist entries in June, 28% more than last year; 1.74 million tourist entries in Jan-June 2017, 26% more than same period last year; and $2.65 billion in revenue from tourism in Jan-June 2017.

275,000 tourist entries were by air, an increase of 26% over June 2016 and 27% over June 2015. 28,600 tourist entries were recorded via the land crossings in June, of which 24,000 came via Jordan and about 4,500 via Egypt. 19,300 arrived as day visitors, compared with 8,700 in June 2016.

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, in the first half of 2017 Israel saw a 76% increase in tourism from China; 30% increase in tourism from Russia; and 20% increase in tourism from US.

1.74 million tourist entries were recorded in January-June 2017, an increase of 26% over the same period in 2016 (1.38 million), and 24% more than in 2015.

Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said in a statement: “The June tourism statistics bring us to record levels for incoming tourists in the first six months of the year. Our policy continues to prove itself and to bear fruit and we can see that the right marketing strategy can bring Israel to new heights.”

“We are implementing marketing activities and innovative processes to brand Israel and to bring new airlines and new routes into Israel and all this activity proves itself, month after month,” Levin explained. “The significant increase in incoming tourists numbers makes an exceptional contribution to the Israeli economy and workforce. I am convinced that, with the correct activities, we will continue to see good results in the coming months.”