Israeli officials are worried about the slow-down in the rate of tourism last month and fear that it may be a direct result of the May 30 massacre at Lydda Airport in which 27 persons were killed. Statistics released by the Ministry of Tourism showed a 12 percent rise in tourism during June 1972 compared to the same month last year. This is considerably less than the monthly rise of over 30 percent during the Jan.-May period.
The June figure of 64,900 tourists was artificially inflated by the inclusion of some 6000 Arabs who crossed the Jordan River bridges to visit East Jerusalem last month. But hotel owners here say they are not discouraged because June is normally a “slow month.” Travel agents claim that bookings for the summer are beginning to pick up.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
