The Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem. Photo: Wiki Commons.

JNS.org – Israeli tourism has started off 2014 strong after a record year in 2013, with tourists to the Jewish state up 19 percent in January, setting a new monthly record.

According to the Israeli Tourism Ministry, a total of 229,000 tourists visited Israel last month, with 200,000 staying for more than one night, a record for January.

“This is an excellent beginning for 2014, following the record year for incoming tourism to Israel in 2013,” said Tourism Minister Uzi Landau.

Last year, Israel set a number of tourism records with more than 3.5 million visitors, a 0.5 percent increase over 2012, generating more than $11.5 billion in revenue for the Israeli economy.