Thousands pray for forgivness (Selichot), at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem on Sep.t 16, 2018. Photo: Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90.

JNS.org – October proved to be the best month for Israeli tourism, thanks to almost 500,000 tourists injecting $676.3 million into the economy, according to the country’s Tourism Ministry.

“The month of October breaks a historic record with an astonishingly unprecedented figure of almost half a million tourists who arrived in Israel in one month,” said Minister of Tourism Yariv Levin.

“Incoming tourism contributes significantly to both Israel’s economy and, no less importantly, to its image,” added Levin. “I am convinced that we will continue to see the sharp rise in the number of tourists arriving in Israel, and we will end the year with another record.”

The 70th anniversary of the founding of the Jewish state no doubt will add to the year’s total.

Hungary produced the most significant increase, at about 65 percent, among countries where the “Tourism Ministry invested marketing resources over the past two years,” according to the ministry. Italy came in second at about 50 percent more marketing, followed by Poland, Romania and Holland, each at around a 40 percent increase.

The United States increased at about 13 percent.

On average, the Tourism Ministry expended 47 percent more on marketing in those countries.

Approximately 486,000 registered to enter the country in October, with a total of 3.4 million visitors being in the country for an average of eight days so far in 2018.