Some 40,000 Indian tourists visit Israel in 2011, more than any other Asian country. 'I've never seen such a clean place in my life,' says Rejina Dsoza from Goa

Source: Ynetnews

INDIA – Rejina Dsoza didn't know she is part of a trend. She enjoyed her visit to Israel last summer so much that she already convinced almost a dozen of her friends, relatives and neighbors to make the Jewish State their next holiday destination.

"I don't have the words to describe it," said Dsoza, a restaurant owner from Goa and mother-of-three, "But in Israel I felt as though my soul is happy. And it's so clean! I've never seen such a clean place in my life."

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The city's beaches have been given an international thumbs-up by Yahoo!, which included Gordon-Fishman in a recent list of "10 Great Urban Beaches", alongside LA's Venice Beach, Australia's Bondi Beach.

Source: Ynetnews

The list, originally published on the Smartertravel.com website, writes: "If Jerusalem is Israel's responsible, buttoned-up firstborn child, then Tel Aviv is the fun, freewheeling youngest sibling. On warm days, Tel Avivians are quick to hit the city's 13 beaches that span more than eight miles along the Mediterranean."

"Gordon-Frishman Beach, closest to the city core, is one of the hippest places to be seen. Beach bars, DJs, and volleyball courts draw a cosmopolitan crowd, and on weekends you have to arrive early to stake out a spot on the wide beach," the description continues.

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Over 1.4 million visitors, tourists arrive in Israel between January and May 2012, 4% higher than previous record set in 2010.

Source: Ynetnews

During the five first months of 2012, 1.4 million visitors arrived in Israel, a number that is 4% higher than the previous record set in 2010. 
Israel also set a record in incoming tourism during the month of May, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported on Monday.

Based on data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics, 1.4 million visitors arrived in the months January – May 2012, 6% more than the same period in 2011 and 4% more than 2010, which was a record year. Of these, 1.2 million were tourists, 3% more than the same period last year.

In May 2012, another record was set with incoming tourism (visitors and tourists). About 321,000 visitors arrived in Israel, 4% more than the monthly record of 308,000 reached in the months of May 2010 and 2011.

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Leading travel magazine ranks White City as one of top 10 recommended architecture destinations

Source: Ynetnews

A leading travel magazine has ranked Tel Aviv as one of the world's 10 best cities for architecture lovers.

"Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Tel Aviv's “White City” contains 4,000 International Style buildings, many of which were built in the 1930s and 1940s," CondeNast's website noted.

Tel Aviv has also made it to the Australian vacation rentals Airnb website's top 10 travel destinations for 2012. It was ranked below London and above Sidney and Barcelona.

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Jerusalem was selected as one of the top 25 most sought after destinations in 2011 in a survey held by the prestigious and popular website "Tripadvisor".

Source: MFA

Jerusalem was selected as one of the top 25 most sought after destinations in 2011 in a survey held by the prestigious and popular website "Tripadvisor"; Jerusalem reached the position of number 13 out of 337 tourist destinations worldwide.

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