War hits Israel tourism industry hard

Nearly a year after the outbreak of the war in Gaza, Israel has suffered a net loss of $5 billion from international tourism and a loss of $204 million from domestic tourism, the Israeli Tourism Ministry announced.

According to the ministry’s report, approximately 853,000 tourists have entered Israel, primarily from the U.S., France, the UK, Russia and the Philippines.

"Nearly half (44%) came to visit friends and family, 28% were tourists, and 13% came for business, the ministry reported," the report reads.

It was noted that three-fourths of tourists had already visited Israel in the past.