Israel says 2010 is shaping up to be a record year for its tourism.
Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov announced Monday that preliminary estimates show Israel received 3.45 million visitors this year.
That’s 14 percent higher than the previous record of about 3 million tourists in 2008. Tourism slid last year during the global economic crisis.
The increase reflects improved security in Israel, where the Israeli-Palestinian violence last decade sent tourist numbers plummeting.
Misezhnikov said about one-fifth of the tourists came from the United States, followed by visitors from Russia, France, the United Kingdom and Germany. More than two-thirds were Christian and 23 percent were Jewish.
The ministry expects to have final 2010 numbers in January.
