Tourism in Israel

Tourism in Israel is one of the country's major sources of income. Israels offer a plethora of historical and religious sites, beach resorts, archaeological tourism, heritage tourism and ecotourism. Israel and the Palestinian territories has the highest number of museums per capita in the world. The most popular paid site is Masada. The largest groups of tourists visit from the United States, Russia, France, the United Kingdom and Germany. Over 2.7 million foreign tourists in 2009 visited Israel in 2009.

Historical, religious and cultural sites

Russian Orthodox Church, Jerusalem

Jaffa Gate

The Arab market in the Old City of Jerusalem

Jerusalem

• The capital and largest city of Israel, it also attracts the most foreign tourists. The holiest city in Judaism, the ancient capital of the United Monarchy and then of the Kingdom of Judah. The site of the Temples in Jerusalem. See Western Wall. East Jerusalem is recognized by the international community as Palestinian territory held by Israel in a state of military occupation.
• The four quarters of the Old City: Muslim Quarter, Christian Quarter, Armenian Quarter, Jewish Quarter.
• The site of some of Jesus's teaching and entombment; Christians believe he was crucified on a nearby hill, Golgotha.
• (Islam). Dome of the Rock, Al-Aqsa Mosque
• City of David, including Hezekiah's Tunnel
• Yad Vashem holocaust memorial museum
• The Mount of Olives which includes gethsemane, church of all nations, Russian orthodox church, Mt. of Olives lookout point, Dominus Flevit, the pillar of absalom and a 2000 year old Jewish cemetery.
• List of places in Jerusalem

File:Tel Aviv aerial.jpg

Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv

• Israel's second-largest city, and a cosmopolitan, cultural and financial global city. The city's greater area is the largest with 3 million inhabitants. Tel Aviv exhibits a Unesco world heritage area of Bauhaus architecture. Nearby historical city of Jaffa is experiencing a touristic boom.

Golan Heights (recognized by the international community as Syrian territory held by Israel in a state of military occupation)

• Hermon mountain. Skiing and snowboarding during the winter (see: Mount Hermon ski resort).
• Archaeology in Katzrin, Gamla, Nimrod Fortress, Gilgal Refaim

Safed

• A holy city in Judaism, where much of the Jerusalem Talmud was written and kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) was developed. Famous for its artisans. The grave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in nearby Meron.

Acre

• (Bahá'í) Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, resting place of Bahá'u'lláh as well as a Unesco world heritage historical town.

Haifa

• Carmel
• (Bahá'í) Shrine of the Báb, its associated terraces, and the Bahá'í World Centre and the buildings (a Unesco world heritage).

Tiberias

• A holy city in Judaism, on west bank of the freshwater Sea of Gallilee.
• Saint Peter's house at Capernaum, Tabgha and the Mount of Beatitudes.

Nazareth

• Jesus's hometown and the site of many of his acts and miracles.
• Starting point for the Jesus Trail, a network of hiking routes connecting many sites from Jesus's life and ministry.

Bet She'an

• A Roman Decapolis city. One of the largest archaeological sites in the Middle East.

Bethlehem

• Burial place of the matriarch Rachel and birthplace of King David.
• Birthplace of Jesus

Note: Bethlehem is in Area 'A' under the control of the Palestinian Authority. Visitors from Israel will pass through a checkpoint and are required to show their passports. Israelis are forbidden entry to Area 'A' without explicit army approval.

Hebron

• The second-holiest city in Judaism and the place where the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs is located. According to Jewish tradition, this is the burial place of the great patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) and matriarchs (Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah). The capital of the Kingdom of Israel before David moved it to Jerusalem.

Note: Most of Hebron is zoned Area 'A' under the control of the Palestinian Authority, except for a small area where Israeli citizens are permitted to live jointly with Palestinians. Visitors from Israel will pass through a checkpoint and may be required to show their passports. Israelis are forbidden entry to Area 'A' without explicit army approval.

Masada

• Masada became famous for its significance in the First Jewish-Roman War (Great Jewish Revolt), when a siege of the fortress by troops of the Roman Empire led to a mass suicide of the site's Jewish defenders when defeat became imminent.

Beersheba

• Its settlement attributed to the patriarch Abraham. Regional capital of the Negev desert. It serves as a starting point for exploring such sites as the Ramon Crater or the Unesco world heritage Nabathean Incense Route (Shivta, Avdat, Mamshit).

Eilat

• The southernmost city in Israel, on the Red Sea coast, it is a hot, sunny year-round travel destination. Popular destination for skin and SCUBA diving, with equipment for hire on or near all major beaches.

Kibbutzim

• A network of once socialist communes which dot the countryside. They are undergoing a process of modernization and re-organization. Well known in Israel for great contributions to Israeli history, politics, army, and Zionism.

Caesarea

• The old city includes Roman and Crusader ruins, such as the amphitheatre (where concerts are frequently held), as well as the harbor from which St. Paul was taken as a prisoner to Rome.
• The grassy golf club and villas are newly developed in this coastal city, which has become increasing popular to tourists.

Ein Gedi

• Desert spring. It is a starting point for tours in Masada as well as the Dead Sea.

Tzippori

• A Roman town exhibiting elaborate mosaics and a historic Synagogue.

Beit Guvrin-Maresha

• A large archaeological complex in the Judean Mountains.

Biblical Tells

• There several Iron Age mounds spread throughout the country. Three of them Tel Be'er Sheva, Tel Hazor and Tel Megiddo (the site of Armageddon) were recognized as Unesco world heritage sites . They exhibit elaborate water systems that are among the earliest in the world.

Seas and lakes

Mediterranean coastal strip

• Sunny beaches and hotel resorts

The Dead Sea

• The lowest point on the Earth's surface and the deepest hypersaline lake in the world, famous for its buoyancy and medicinal qualities

Red Sea

• Sunny beaches and hotel resorts

Sea of Galilee

• Sunny beaches and hotel resorts
• Important Christian holy sites such as Mount of Beatitudes

Economic impact

Tourism is a leading industry in Israel. In 2008, it constituted 4.7% of the country's GDP.

The Ernst & Young Report

In 2005, Ernst & Young conducted the deepest research that was ever made on the Israeli tourism. The Ministry of Tourism of Israel ordered the research in order to make a revolution in this market. The official subject was "A New Market Strategy for Israeli Tourism" and the result was publicized in November 2006.

The report noted that in 2005, Israel received a total of 1.9 million international visitors and opined that a realistic target is to double the number of international tourists until 2011, to 4-5 million visitors.

It stated that "the absolutely most attractive feature Israel has for the international markets is its "religious culture and history"" as well as "the great diversity/variety within a very small country". The variety it referred is about the different cultures and religions, the very different landscapes from Mount Hermon (located on the Golan Heights to the Negev desert), different cities (Jerusalem, Tel Aviv), the mix of European and Arabic world, etc. The report pointed out thet "All this leads to a very high density of experience". In the general summary of the report, it is said that "If Jerusalem was not in Israel, it could have been a much more popular destination than Rome or any other destination. That's why the main target of the Israeli Hasbara and advertising, according to Ernst & Young, is to brand Israel as a normative place.

Most visited sites

The two most visited sites in Israel are the Western Wall and the grave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.The top paid sites of 2008 were listed by Dun & Bradstreet Israel as opposed to the above sites which offer free entry. Another popular free site not listed in the survey is the Bahai Gardens in Haifa.

Listing	Site	Visitors
3	Masada	721,915
5	Caesarea	713,648
1	Jerusalem Biblical Zoo	687,647
4	Zoological Center of Tel Aviv-Ramat Gan	581,800
2	Hamat Gader	500,000
6	Coral World Underwater Observatory in Eilat	458,000
7	Banias	430,531
8	Yamit 2000 in Holon	412,533
9	Luna Park in Tel Aviv	400,000
10	Qumran	389,291

The top paid sites of 2005 were listed by Dun & Bradstreet Israel.

Listing	Site	Visitors
1	Jerusalem Biblical Zoo
2	Hamat Gader	550 000
3	Masada	495 000
4	Zoological Center of Tel Aviv-Ramat Gan
5	Caesarea	440 000
6	Coral World Underwater Observatory in Eilat	416 000
7	Mini Israel	408 000
8	Balagan Yagur near Yagur
9	Mount Hermon	350,000
10	Luna Gal on shores of Sea of Gallilee

Gallery

• 
  Jaffa Gate
• 
  The Arab market in the Old City of Jerusalem
• 
  Dead Sea at dusk
• 
  Sinkholes at Mineral Beach
• 
  Dead Sea from Masada

See also

• List of museums in Israel
• Medical tourism in Israel

External links

• Ministry of Tourism Template:En icon
• Discover Jerusalem
• Go Israel(Ministry of Tourism)
• Template:Wikitravel