Approximately 116,000 foreign tourists arrived in Israel in January, 15 percent fewer than in the parallel month a year ago. Nevertheless, the tourism industry took encouragement from fact that the drop in visitors compared to a year ago has been falling.

The Tourism Ministry said that since last summer's war in Lebanon, the year-on-year decline has narrowed significantly, from a 35% drop in August and September to a 15% drop in December and January.

Tourism Minister Isaac Herzog said that rather than year to year figures, the important trend was the improvement shown from month to month since the war that brought the crisis to the industry. Source: Newsbeyond.com