Tourism Minister: Arab Spring Kept Visitors from Israel

[Ed Wetschler]

Jerusalem Post:  "Upheaval in the Arab world has caused a significant drop in tourist visits to Israel, Tourism Minister Stas Meseznikov said on Sunday....'Those who come from the US or Asia, they don't know where Egypt ends and where Israel begins.'"  

FYI, Israel still got 2% more visitors in 2011 than in 2010. About 600,000 of them were from the U.S.; 500,000 from Russia. How do you account for the fact that Israel gets so many visitors from Russia?