Poll: Western Wall most visited tourist site in Israel

The Western Wall is still the most visited site by foreign tourists visiting Israel, despite a sharp rise in Christian tourism and a decline in Jewish visitors, a poll revealed Wednesday.

The survey was conducted by the Geocartographic Institute on behalf of the Tourism Ministry, and related to tourists who visited Israel during the first half of 2004.

Christians made up 33 percent of visiting tourists, compared to 27 percent in the first half of 2003. The number of Jewish tourists dropped from 57 percent in the first half of 2003, to 52 percent of all tourists.

According to the survey, 53 percent of all tourists visited the Western Wall in the first half of 2004. The second most visited site was the Jewish Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem. The next most visited site was Old Jaffa, visited by 28 percent of tourists, followed by the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, 26 percent, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Christian Quarter, 25 percent, the Via Dolorosa, 23 percent, the Tower of David, 22 percent, Masada, 20 percent and Caesarea, 16 percent.

The poll also reveals that 75 percent of tourists visited Israel independently, while 13 percent came on organized tours. Twelve percent bought package deals.

According to the survey, 80 percent of tourists said their trip to Israel was very good, or excellent. On a scale of 1 to 5, the average score on overall satisfaction from the trip to Israel stood at 4.2.

Ninety-five percent of tourists said they would encourage their friends to visit Israel, and 73 percent said they had no security concerns during their visit to Israel.

	The Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City. (Archive)