November 21, 2010, Updated September 27, 2012

Israel’s Tourism Ministry will welcome record-breaking tourist No. 3,000,001 in a festive ceremony at noon tomorrow, at Ben-Gurion airport.

Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov, Director-General of the Israel Airports Authority Kobi Mor and tourism industry leaders will all be present at the ceremony, set to take place as the tourist disembarks an El AL flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

All passengers on the flight will receive a gift from the Tourism Ministry, with tourist No. 3,000,001 to receive a special presentation from Misezhnikov.

The ceremony will mark a new record for incoming tourism, the previous annual record being three million tourists in 2008. The year 2010 is expected to end with a total of 3.4 million tourists, an increase of 700,000 tourists over 2009 and 400,000 more than in 2008.

The Ministry’s target for 2011 is four million tourists and five million for 2015. Misezhnikov says: “Breaking records for incoming tourism to Israel reflects the revolution that has been taking place in the Israeli tourism industry over the last year. This revolution is making huge contributions to the Israeli economy by creating new jobs, increasing revenue and improving Israel’s image around the world as an attractive tourism destination.”

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