The Israel Ministry of Tourism has announced that tourism arrival numbers, for the first time in over two years, are approaching the same record-breaking numbers of summer, 2019.

This upward trend comes on the heels of the country reopening to international travelers regardless of vaccination status in March. 

"We are thrilled that travelers from all over the world are eager to visit Israel again; ever since our total reopening to all travelers, we are seeing an influx of visitors," said Eyal Carlin, Tourism Commissioner for North America.

"With new hotels, restorations and renovations to many historical sites, new tour offerings, and new restaurants in every region we are seeing that the demand to visit Israel is very high--and with all the amazing things to do in Israel, there's never been a better time to visit."

Since March of this year, the Ministry has seen exponential growth month over month, and the country expects to be back to pre-COVID, 2019 numbers very soon. During June of 2022, Israel saw 112.7k North American tourists (excluding day visitors & cruise passengers) while in June of 2019 there were around 131.8k North American tourists who entered the country.

"It's exciting to see continuous growth in travel to Israel from the Canadian market," said Gal Hana, Director Counsel of Canada for the Israel Ministry of Tourism.

"With a number of upgrades in accessibility, hotel openings, and of course the natural beauty of the country Israel should be at the top of everyone's travel list this year!"