The number of tourists arriving in Israel in the first six months of this year was 531,900, as compared with 649,200 in the same period last year — a decline of 19 percent, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported.
During the first six months of 1986, 448,600 tourists arrived by air, as compared with 559,900 in the same period in 1985 — a decline of 20 percent — while 75,800 tourists arrived overland.
Not including the return of persons who spent up to a week in Sinai, the number of tourists arriving overland in the first six months of this year was 60,700, as compared to the 76,500 who arrived in the same period last year.
There were 7,500 tourist arrivals by sea in the January through June 1986 period, as compared with 8,400 in the same period last year, the Bureau reported. Another 32,500 arrived on pleasure cruises, as compared with 68,300 in the first six months of 1985. The number of tourists arriving in Eilat by direct flights in January through June was 35,800, up from 26,900 in the same period last year — an increase of 33 percent.
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.
