by Trip Advisor
Readers of the popular travel website Trip Advisor have ranked Jerusalem among their Top 10 culture and sightseeing destinations in the world, above London, Istanbul and Venice. This accolade comes just weeks after the prestigious New York-based Travel+Leisure Magazine ranked Jerusalem as the best city in Africa and the Middle East.
Jerusalem, which according to Trip Advisor has "profound cultural and historical significance,” was ranked seventh. Trip Advisor readers ranked the Italian city of Florence in first place, followed by Washington D.C., Rome, Paris, Siem Reap and New York City.
“Religious pilgrims have been traveling to Jerusalem for centuries, yet you don’t have to share their zeal in order to appreciate this city’s profound cultural and historical significance,“ notes the website. “Plan on seeing the major sights, but also leave plenty of time to walk through the streets and simply immerse yourself in the daily life of such an ancient and revered place."
Earlier this month, Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat announced an unprecedented increase in the tourism marketing and infrastructure budget for Jerusalem from the current NIS 3 million to NIS 70 million, as part of a plan to grow tourism to the city from an annual 3 million to 10 million by 2020. According to Misezhnikov : “Jerusalem is Israel’s strongest tourism brand. Every single person should want to visit Jerusalem at least once in his life – for evangelicals, and for Jews, and for Muslims.”
