New air routes boost tourism in Israel

The Israeli Tourist Office has announced rising tourism figures in the first two months of 2008 and partially attributed the success to new air routes into the country.

Some 380,760 people visited Israel in January and February, which represented an increase of more than 50 per cent on the same period of last year.

British travellers in particular have shown a rising interest in Israel, with 23,936 visitors in the first two months of the year, 18 per cent more than in the same period in 2007.

The tourist office attributed this success to factors including new routes provided by bmi and Thomsonfly.

Bmi is currently offering a daily non-stop service to Tel Aviv from Heathrow Airport, while Thomsonfly flies to the same city from Manchester Airport.

Uzi Gafni, director of the Israel Tourist Board, said: "We are excited to see that Britons continue to be fascinated by Israel and that more and more of them are now able to experience it for themselves.

"Traditionally, travel to Israel has not always been as convenient as it could have been, however new travel options mean that the country has now opened up to the everyday tourist and with flight times of just five hours, there couldn't be a better time to visit."