TORONTO — The number of Canadians visiting Israel continues to rise thanks to heightened interest in the destination, resulting in greater demand and visitor traffic year after year, according to the Israel Ministry of Tourism – Canada.

“Canadians are realizing that Israel is a safe, modern, world-class destination, and Israel offers the value proposition for Canadian traveller dollars spent on both airfare and land portion,” says Jerry Adler, Director for Canada, Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT).

The FIT leisure market continues to grow, with Canadian tourists seeking out new experiential niches including culture and events, design and lifestyle, adventure, culinary and wine, health and wellness, sports and athletic competitions, history and faith opportunities and many others, notes Adler. He adds: “The traditional ‘bread and butter’ niche of group travel for Christian and Jewish pilgrimage continues to grow steadily too.

“We applaud and thank our travel partners here in Canada – including airlines, tour operators, retail agencies, home-based agents and other sales channels for being solid stakeholders in our collective success. When you succeed we all succeed!”

IMOT – Canada continues to forge forward to recruit new partners to learn more about the destination and become Israel Specialists, under the direction of Adler and his colleague here in Toronto, Ellen Melman. 

From January to July 2018 some 2.4 million visitors arrived in Israel, an increase of 17.3% on the same period in 2017 (about 2 million) and 46% more than in 2016.

In July 2018, some 8,600 Canadians made the trip, up 4% over July 2017.

“Month after month we are witnessing new achievements and record highs in incoming tourism,” says Israel’s Tourism Minister, Yariv Levin. “I am pleased that, in the last month, we have also seen an impressive rise in incoming tourism. The marketing efforts and innovative activities that we are implementing, together with the incentives for airlines and  investments in infrastructure, are all proving themselves anew each month, as the tourism industry continues to be a significant factor in making exceptional impact and contributions to the Israeli economy and workforce.”

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, 293,400 tourist entries were recorded in July 2018, about 8% more than July 2017.

There was an 8.3% increase in tourist entries in July 2018 compared to 2017 and a 26.6% increase on July 2016.

By air 267,200 tourist entries were recorded, 8.8% more than July 2017 and 27.1% more than July 2016.

By land crossing 26,200 tourists were recorded, 3.1% more than in July 2017 and 21.7% more than in July 2016.

Day visitors recorded 22,700 in July, 3.2% more than in July 2017 and 136.5% more than in 2016.