The Tel Aviv shoreline. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – On Tuesday, the 3 millionth tourist to land in Israel this year is scheduled to arrive, marking the Jewish state’s record-high total for incoming tourism in a single year. The lucky visitor will be given a special prize package to celebrate the event and promote tourism to Israel.

Photos of the tourist’s upgraded vacation will be used to market Israeli tourism as part of a campaign to attract workers to Israel’s tourism industry.

Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, who was planning to meet the tourist at Ben-Gurion International Airport, said on Sunday that he was “excited to welcome the tourist and break the 3 million barrier.”

“We are about to end the year with a great achievement — a result of the enormous efforts we are investing into marketing Israel worldwide, in exceptional cooperation with airlines, and the ties we are working to strengthen with travel agents,” Levin said. “All this has been bearing fruit and has so far brought in some 17 billion shekels ($4.8 billion) and thousands of jobs to the Israeli economy.”

This year, Israel is on track to see a 20-percent increase in incoming tourism compared to 2016. The tourism sector is expected to keep expanding, and the Tourism Ministry is working on ways to improve tourists’ experience in Israel.