Tourism to Israel decreases

JERUSALEM, July 17 (UPI) -- The number of tourists visiting Israel in the first half of this year dropped by 20 percent, a report released by the Ministry of Tourism said.

The report said 1.2 million tourists visited Israel between January and June, a 20 percent drop compared to the same period last year.

The Central Bureau of Statistics said 208,000 tourists visited Israel in June, a 16 percent decrease compared to the number of visitors in June 2008.

Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov said his ministry has increased the marketing budget for the next two years to curb the trend. Details of the report were published on Ynetnews.com