RECORD TOURIST FIGURES FOR 2017 CREATE 25,000 NEW JOBS:

Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said Sunday, 7 Jan. 2018 at the opening of the cabinet meeting that 2017 was a "historic turning point" for incoming tourism, with more than 3.6 million tourists arriving in Israel, an increase of 700,000 over the past year. Levin said the revolution in tourism was attained by new methods of marketing as well as encouraging airlines to open routes and collaborating with large travel agencies worldwide. He added that income from tourism passed 20 billion shekels and created 25,000 new jobs. (INN)