- January 2, 2026
- 2:00 pm
- Israel
In 2025, Israel shows signs of recovery in international tourism after several challenging years. By the end of the year, the country was visited by about 1.3 million foreign tourists — a figure higher than in 2024, but still significantly below pre-pandemic levels.
The main influx traditionally came from the USA, France, and the UK, accounting for more than half of all foreign visits. Next in the statistics are Russia, Germany, and Ukraine, which by the end of the year ranked 6th in the number of tourists visiting Israel.
According to tourism statistics, in 2025, about 31,000 Ukrainian citizens visited Israel, placing the country in sixth position among all source countries of inbound tourism. Formally, this appears as a steady interest in Israel from Eastern Europe, but behind the Ukrainian numbers lies a much more complex and painful reality.
Main data on tourist flow to Israel in 2025
Total number of tourists: about 1.3 million people
Leading countries by number of visits:
USA — about 400,000
France — approximately 159,000
UK — about 95,000
Russia — about 64,000
Germany — approximately 38,000
Ukraine — about 31,000
Canada — about 28,000
Romania — approximately 27,000
Ukraine was among the countries with a noticeable inbound flow, but unlike most countries on this list, a significant portion of Ukrainians arrive in Israel not as classic tourists.
War, “tourist” status, and distorted statistics
Since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, many citizens of the country have been entering Israel, fleeing the hostilities. Formally, they often fall under the tourist category — not because they are going on vacation, but because there is simply no other quick and working entry mechanism for them. In fact, these are refugees temporarily in the country, often without stable status, work, and certainty about the future.
At first glance, the question may arise: why Israel, and why do people fleeing the war end up here as “tourists.” The answer for Ukrainians is usually obvious but not always spoken aloud. Many of them have relatives in Israel, family and community ties, friends, distant and close family members. For some Ukrainians, including Ukrainian Jews, Israel is not an abstract country but a place where they can find temporary refuge, support, and minimal safety when alternatives are either closed or too dangerous.
Behind the dry phrase “Ukrainian tourists” lie destroyed cities, ruined homes, families torn apart by war. Among these people are Ukrainian Jews, whose communities have suffered from Russian shelling, occupation, civilian casualties, and the destruction of synagogues, cemeteries, and cultural centers. For them, coming to Israel is not a journey or a choice of “convenient destination,” but a forced step dictated by war.
This is why including Ukrainians in the overall tourism statistics without explanations and context distorts the real picture. This is not a flow of vacationers, but a reflection of an ongoing humanitarian catastrophe that has been going on for the third year. When such people are counted alongside classic tourists from peaceful countries, the main thing disappears — the understanding that behind the numbers are living people fleeing war, not suitcases with beachwear.
Why Ukraine and Russia are in the same statistics
Against this backdrop, the fact that Israel continues to account for and actively accept tourists from Russia — a country waging an aggressive war against Ukraine and directly responsible for the destruction of Ukrainian cities, including those with centuries-old Jewish history — is increasingly perceived acutely.
For many Ukrainians, including Ukrainian Jews, it seems incomprehensible and painful why tourists from the aggressor state are in the same category as citizens of democratic countries. Especially since Russia not only bombs Ukraine but also systematically cooperates with Iran, supports forces threatening Israel’s security, supplies weapons, and conducts anti-Western and anti-Israeli policies on the international stage.
This contrast — between the status of Ukrainians fleeing war and the tourist prosperity of Russian citizens — increasingly becomes a subject of public indignation and a moral question for which there is no clear answer yet.
The tourism economy and the reality behind the numbers
The average spending of an individual tourist in Israel in 2025 was about 1,622 dollars, and the average length of stay was approximately 9.3 nights. Most visitors reported high satisfaction with their visit and willingness to recommend Israel as a tourist destination.
Domestic tourism also remained an important pillar of the industry: by the end of the third quarter, Israelis made more than 13 million overnight stays in the country’s hotels. However, behind the positive dynamics of the numbers remains the key question — what reality do these numbers actually reflect and whom exactly does the state consider a “tourist” in the conditions of war in Europe and growing instability in the Middle East.
It is such nuances and contradictions that NAnews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency captures, considering tourism statistics not only as an economic indicator but also as a reflection of the moral, humanitarian, and political choices facing Israel today.