Tourist numbers in Israel drop slightly

Inbound tourism to Israel recorded a significant decline during the first half of 2026, with the number of tourists reaching only about 430,000, representing a decrease of nearly 78% compared to 1.97 million visitors during the same period in 2023. Despite the drop in tourist numbers, overall spending did not decrease substantially, totaling approximately 9.7 billion shekels compared to 10.5 billion shekels in 2023—a decline of 7.8%. Challenges were mainly centered around reduced expenditure in sectors such as restaurants and duty-free shops, while spending in sectors not directly related to tourism, like fast food outlets, increased, reflecting continued consumption by residents rather than tourists. Additionally, there have been shifts in spending patterns, with a slight rise in online purchases despite a decline in in-store shopping, indicating differences in spending behavior relative to the tourism volume. The data confirms that tourist consumption has effectively decreased, especially when adjusted for nearly 10% inflation, while the rising presence of diplomats and international organizations suggests that some spending comes from non-traditional tourism activities.

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