According to Dun and Bradstreet Israel, the most visited paid tourist sites in Israel in 2010 were:
1. Masada – 762,992 visitors; revenue of $10 million
2. Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem – 718,902 visitors
3. Caesarea National Park – 698,808 visitors
4. Banias National Park – 663,000 visitors (up from 9th place in 2009)
5. Ramat Gan Safari Park – down from 2nd place in 2009
6. En Gedi Nature Reserve – 468,562 visitors (most of which were on their way to or from Masada)
7. Hammat Gader hot springs
8. Underwater Observatory in Eilat
9. Qumran National Park (see comment on #6 above)
10. Yamit 2000 Water Park in Holon
Israeli visitors account for the large majority of those visiting #2, #5, #7, #8, and #10. Foreigners are likely the majority at #3 and #9. The others are popular with both Israelis and foreigners. Six of the sites are water-related and favorite destinations of locals in the summer.
The most popular free tourist site was the Western Wall of Jerusalem.
Given that 3.5 million tourists visited Israel in 2010, the majority of them Christians, one is led to wonder where the Christians all went. Surely more than 1 million Christian tourists did not come and leave Israel without visiting Capernaum. Perhaps the site was excluded from the survey for some reason, even though it charges an entrance fee. Last year’s survey (noted on this blog here) was reported as pertaining only to Israelis’ destinations, but the stories in the Jerusalem Post and Arutz-7 of this year’s results suggest that all tourists are included.
One thought on “Top Tourist Sites in Israel in 2010”
How about the Dead Sea? I think it should be on the list as well, many people choose o spend there their vacation or enjoy it on a day trip.
Also, it's one of the finalists of the New7Wonders of Nature campaign, you can vote for it here:
http://www.facebook.com/VoteDeadSea?sk=wall#!/VoteDeadSea?sk=wall