The news coming out of Israel just keeps getting better and better.

The Department of Economic Research of the Hotels Association published its 2019 data for hotels and compared them to 2018 and the last decade.

In 2019, for the third year in a row, Israel broke its record in hotel stays. This year, about 12.1 million tourists stayed in hotels, up 4.7% on 2018, up 14.1% on 2017.

Most of the tourist stays were recorded in Jerusalem (about 34%), in Tel Aviv (about 24%) and in Tiberias and around Kinneret (about 11%). Total overnight stays amounted to 25.8 million – up 2.6% from 2018 and up 6.6% from 2017.

Average national room occupancy was also a record of all time, totaling around 69.5%. In contrast, the average occupancy rate in 2018 was 68% and 66.6% in 2017.

The highest occupancy rate was recorded in Tel Aviv, with 76% in Eilat, 73% in Jerusalem, 72% in Nazareth, 72% at the Dead Sea, 70% in Herzliya, 69% in Tiberias, 68% by the Sea of ​​Galilee, 65% in Haifa, and 59% in Netanya.

The number of hotel rooms available at the end of 2019 stood at 55,431 rooms – an addition of about 800 rooms compared to 2018.

The Association said, “2019 was a record year in the hotel industry and, once again, proved the vitality of investment in marketing Israel globally. The steady increase in tourist arrivals and overnight stays is a significant addition to the country’s income from inbound tourism, which amounted to approximately NIS 26 billion in 2019. This is essential for the State of Israel.”