Tourist Demographics and Economic Contribution
According to the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, in 2009 54% of the 2.7 million visitors to Israel were Christian. Jewish tourists accounted for 39%. Revenue from tourism in 2009 totalled $ 3.3 billion. In 2010, tourism constituted 6.4% of the country's GDP. The World Travel and Tourism Council estimates that real GDP growth for tourism in Israel is expected to average 5.0% per annum over the years 2010-2020. The contribution of tourism to Gross Domestic Product is expected by WTTC to rise from 6.4% (US$12.0 billion) in 2010 to 7.2% ($22.1 billion) by 2020. The contribution of the industry to employment is 223,000 jobs in 2010, 7.9% of total employment. Export earnings from international visitors and tourism goods are expected to generate 6.5% of total exports (US $4.8 billion) in 2010. Investment in tourism is estimated at US $2.3 billion or 7.6% of total investment in 2010. The Israel Travel & Tourism economy is ranked number 51 in absolute size worldwide, of the 181 countries estimated by the WTTC.
Read more about this topic: Tourism In Israel
Famous quotes containing the words tourist, economic and/or contribution:
“The tourist who moves about to see and hear and open himself to all the influences of the places which condense centuries of human greatness is only a man in search of excellence.”
—Max Lerner (b. 1902)
“A two-parent family based on love and commitment can be a wonderful thing, but historically speaking the “two-parent paradigm” has left an extraordinary amount of room for economic inequality, violence and male dominance.”
—Stephanie Coontz (20th century)
“Sometimes I think that idlers seem to be a special class for whom nothing can be planned, plead as one will with them—their only contribution to the human family is to warm a seat at the common table.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)