Holiday time

The most popular times for locals to vacation in Israel are the months of July and August, while foreigners visit in the greatest numbers during March, April, May, October and November.

Domestic and Foreign Tourism in Israel in 2018-19, by month (photo credit: JERUSALEM INSTITUTE FOR POLICY RESEARCH)
Domestic and Foreign Tourism in Israel in 2018-19, by month
(photo credit: JERUSALEM INSTITUTE FOR POLICY RESEARCH)
From January 1 through July 31, 2019, some 14.7 million overnight stays by foreign tourists and vacationing Israelis were recorded in Israel, slightly more than the 14.3 million for the same period in 2018.
Vacationing Israelis generally stay in hotels at specific times during the year when visiting inside the country. The most popular times for locals to vacation in Israel are the months of July and August, while foreigners visit in the greatest numbers during March, April, May, October and November. The Central Bureau of Statistics recently published data for July 2019. It is interesting to note that there was an increase in numbers as compared with July 2018, with respect to both the number of foreign tourists’ overnight stays (872,000 as opposed to 801,000 last year), and for Israelis’ overnight stays (1.7 million as opposed to 1.6 million in 2018).
Prior to July, the situation varied. While there was an increase in foreign tourism in those months, the increase was often accompanied by a decrease in domestic tourism. For example, in March there was a rise in the number of overnight stays by foreign tourists as compared with 2018, and a decline in visits by local tourists, while in April the trend was reversed. During the other months of the year there was little difference between the 2018 numbers and those for 2019.
While the trends for domestic and foreign tourists’ overnight stays in Jerusalem are similar to those throughout the rest of Israel, the numbers are reversed: Although July 2019 was the month with the most overnight stays in Jerusalem by Israelis for the year to date, stays by locals numbered 111,000 (a 7% increase in contrast to 2018) while 295,000 stays by foreign tourists were recorded.
Translated by Gilah Kahn-Hoffmann.