Foreign tourists’ overnight stays in Israel down 81 pct in H1 amid conflict

JERUSALEM, July 24 (Xinhua) — The number of foreign tourists’ overnight stays in Israel’s hotels has dropped by 81 percent in the first half of 2024, compared to the first half of last year, the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.
The number of foreign tourists’ stays decreased to 961,600 in January-June this year during the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and at the Lebanese border, compared to 5.06 million in the first six months of 2023.
Compared to the second half of last year, the number of overnight stays decreased by 63.3 percent, after standing at 2.62 million in July-December 2023.
The number of tourists’ stays in Israeli hotels fell sharply starting from Oct. 7 last year, when the conflict broke out, and stood at only 92,300 in November, after 673,000 in September. ■