2007 was best year ever for American tourism to Israel

TEL AVIV, Israel -- More Americans visited Israel last year than ever before.

In 2007, 529,000 Americans made the trip, according to Arie Sommer, Israel's tourism commissioner for North and South America. The previous record year was 1999, when 515,000 Americans visited the country.

About 25 percent of all tourists to Israel come from the U.S., with the top five states of origin being New York, California, New Jersey, Florida, Pennsylvania and Illinois.

While some Americans go to connect with their Jewish heritage, Sommer estimates that as many as a third of U.S. visitors are Christian. Itineraries that include sites connected to the New Testament and the life of Jesus are popular, with visits to the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee and the olive grove where the Sermon on the Mount was delivered.

Israel's tourism infrastructure has also grown increasingly sophisticated in the past few years, offering European-style bed-and-breakfast inns, wineries and spas in addition to historic and archaeological sites and the contrast between the ancient city of Jerusalem and the modern city of Tel Aviv. In March, Delta Airlines will add a second daily flight from the United States to Israel. Continental Airlines operates two daily flights from New York to Tel Aviv, El Al Israel Airlines offers as many as six daily flights between the U.S. and Israel, and Israel carrier, Israir, offers up to five weekly flights from JFK to Tel Aviv.

For more information on visiting Israel, go to http://www.goisrael.com.