An all-time record for tourism to Israel was reached in April, with 349,000 foreign citizens arriving in the country as tourists -- an increase of 38% over April 2016, the Tourism Ministry reported Tuesday. Revenue from incoming tourism is also breaking records. Since the start of 2017, incoming tourism has poured some 6 billion shekels ($1.67 billion) into the economy. Commenting on the figures, Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said the growing tourism numbers illustrate the advancements being made in the tourism sector and make an "immense" contribution to the Israeli economy and job market. "When there is a clear policy, we see results," Levin said. "This exciting, important landmark [the April 2017 tourism figures] is part of a positive trend that has continued for over six months, and I hope and believe that the hard work will continue to bear fruit." The incoming tourism numbers for April are 38% higher than April 2016 and a 21% increase over April 2015. The period from January to April 2017 also marked a record, with a total of 1.09 million tourists arriving in Israel, a 28% jump over the same period in 2016 and higher than the same period in 2014 (prior to Operation Protective Edge), the previous highest record holder for those months. Some 40,000 of the tourists who arrived in Israel in April did so by land, with 34,000 entering from Jordan and 6,000 from Egypt. Both these figures are significantly higher than the same numbers from April 2016. The month of April also saw 24,000 day visitors to Israel, a 27% increase over April 2016 and a 13% increase compared to April 2015.
