Сколько русских туристов посетили Иерусалим в 2018 году?
Israel became in recent years a destination for Russian tourists. The city of Tel Aviv in particular is a popular destination in Russia due to its ease for Russian-speakers, hot weather, and beaches. According to polls, Russian tourist satisfaction after visiting Israel was found to be significantly higher than the average, compared with lower satisfaction ratings from tourists from other countries visiting Israel. Almost 500,000 Russian tourists visited Israel in 2014. However, in 2015, Russian tourist numbers to Israel fell dramatically due to the economic crisis in Russia and the fall in the value of the ruble. The 2015 economic crisis in Russia precipitated a crisis in Israel's tourism industry, as many Russian tourists could no longer afford to visit Israel, leading to a fall in total tourism to Israel. The level of tourism from Russia to Israel continued to fall significantly in 2015. By 2018, after years of downturn, Russian tourist numbers to Israel had begun to slightly recover, with Russian tourists once again the second largest body of foreign tourists in Israel, and being particularly important for the resort town of Eilat.
Over 400,000 pilgrims from Russia visited Israel in 2015-2016, said Patriarch Kirill of Moscow. Patriarch Kirill said that the fact that "people in Israel speak Russian creates a special atmosphere for our pilgrims, and they often feel at home in Israel". Speaking about the life of the Jewish community in Russia, he cited the chief rabbi of Russia: "He has told me many times that he does not know any other such place than Russia, where Christians and Jews have such good relations".
500,000