Last update - 00:00 29/03/2007
Biblical Zoo favorite tourist site in 2006
The Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem (The Tisch Family Zoological Gardens) was the most popular tourist site in Israel in 2006, according to Dun and Bradstreet's rankings. This was the zoo's second straight first place finish, and it still recorded a 24 percent rise in the number of visitors compared to last year. In 2005, zoo attendance grew 22 percent, and it moved up in the rankings from fourth place in 2004.
The second most popular tourist site, with a rise of two places, was the Safari in Ramat Gan, with 572,710 visitors in 2006, up 19 percent. Third place went to Hamat Gader, with an estimated 550,000 paid visitors. Next was Masada, with 505,056 visitors in 2006, up 12 percent from 2005. Finishing the top five was Caesaria with 464,444 visitors, up 6.5 percent in 2006.
The D&B rankings of the top 100 local tourist sites include only those places which charge admission, and is based on the number of visitors.
Many other popular attractions and sites, such as the Western Wall or the Bahai Gardens in Haifa, receive a large number of visitors, but do not charge admission and therefore are not on the list.
The total number of visitors to the top 20 sites taken together was about 7 million last year, up 5 percent from 2005. The biggest gains came at sites in the center of the country, where growth was 19 percent, and in Jerusalem where growth was 18 percent. The South saw a rise of 10 percent. This was a direct result of the Second Lebanon War, as can be seen by the tiny 0.5 percent growth in visitors to sites in the North.
Despite last summer's war, the tourism industry did not suffer significantly, according to D&B's economists. In 2006 there were 1.8 million tourist entries to Israel, a drop of only 5 percent.
Part of the increase in tourism came from Israelis who canceled overseas vacations last summer due to the war, and instead visited local sites. In fact, 14 of the top 30 sites set records in 2006.
Sixth place went to the Underwater Observatory in Eilat with 426,000 visitors, followed by the Mini Israel park - the latest site on the list - with 406,000 paid visitors. Next in line were the Hermon, with 350,000 visitors; Ba Lagan with 312,000; and in tenth place the Luna Gal/Dugit beach on Lake Kinneret with about 300,000 tourists.
The next places in the rankings were given to the Tiberius Hot Springs, Sahne (Gan Hashlosha) National Park, Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, Rosh Hanikra, Hamei Yoav Spa, Banias, Kiftzuba, Hamei Gaash Spa, Qumran and the Stalactite Cave. Most of these sites also registered an increase in visits in 2006.