Israel expecting record year for tourism

Israel’s tourist board has announced that it is expecting to see a record number of tourists visiting the country this year.

Around 1.7 million people visited Israel from January to July this year, with an estimated 260,000 tourists taking holidays in the country in July.

The figures from the first half of 2008 are in line with government forecasts that Israel will have welcomed a record 2.8 million tourists in total in 2008.

In order to handle the increasing number of visitors, the tourism ministry is working to improve the industry's professionalism and infrastructure.

Ruhama Avraham-Balili, a government minister, said: "The tourism ministry is working to improve the image of the tourism industry's professionalism in order to attract new employees, minimise the turnover of personnel and increase the professionalism of the various sectors of the industry."

The work of security personnel, passport control at border crossings and the quality of tour guides are all areas that could see improvement as part of the tourism ministry’s plans.

Several major airlines operate flights to Israel including British Airways, Thomsonfly, Swiss, BMI and Air Baltic.

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