D&B Israel: Tourism industry gradually improving

D&B Israel said last week that Israel’s tourism industry had been gradually improving over the past two years. According to D&B Israel, 1.25 million tourists entered Israel during January-August 2005, 26% more than last year.
 
However, despite the recovery, D&B Israel noted that the number of tourists in 2005 was one-third less than the peak entries in 2000.
 
It was also reported last week that the first European charter flights for 5 years landed in Ovda an airport nearby Eilat bringing 630 tourists aboard. The flights will take place weekly until the end of April.
 
A spokesman for the Ministry of Turism said that additional charter flights from the UK, and flights from Moscow, will land in Ovda in the next few weeks. He added that 70,000 tourists are expected in Eilat this winter for a total of 500,000 overnights, generating over US$63 million revenue.