Israel proving popular with tourists

New figures have revealed this summer has been a record-breaking season for the tourism industry in Israel.

Research from the Central Bureau of Statistics shows the number of people visiting the country in July rose 8% year-on-year to 296,000, taking the total number of tourists since the start of the year to two million.

Overall, the number of visitors in the first seven months of 2012 increased 7% on the same period last year and 5% on the first seven months of 2010.

The results saw tourism minister Stas Misezhnikov call for more hotels to be developed.

He is pleased by the statistics though and thinks the growth in tourism and hospitality will "increase competition in the industry and lower the price of accommodation for both foreign tourists and Israelis".

Religious tourism clearly plays a major role in the country's success but more and more people are also visiting for Israel's beaches as well as its notorious historical and archaeological sites.