Israel and the Palestinian Autonomy turned out to be two areas where the sharpest jump in tourist traffic was recorded in the first half of 2017, the United Nations reported.
According to the report of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) published by the British newspaper The Telegraph, the list of 10 items was compiled on the basis of two main trends: recovery from terrorist attacks and search for tourists by popular destinations.

The list was headed by the Palestinian Autonomy, where for the first half of the year a 57.8 percent increase in the flow of foreign tourists was registered. If this trend continues in the future, by the end of the year the PA can visit 630,000 tourists. The Telegraph attributes this credit to the British artist Banksy, who opens his Walled off hotel on the very border of Israel and the PA, whose windows face a security fence in Bethlehem. This was written by all the world's leading mass media, thus raising the awareness of travelers about tourism in the PA.

In Israel, the growth in tourism in percentage terms was more modest - 25.1% compared to the first six months of 2016. If this rate is sustained, the Jewish state will be visited by 3.7 million tourists by the end of the year.

In second place with a 51% increase in the tourist flow was Egypt, which by the end of the year can visit 8 million tourists, which is much less than the number of travelers who came here before the Arab Spring.

Next are the Northern Mariana Islands (3) and Iceland (4) located in the Pacific Ocean, pop culture has gained popularity. Thanks to the fact that part of the filming of the popular fantasy series "The Game of Thrones" took place here, in a short summer season Iceland was visited by the number of tourists ten times its own population - with 250 thousand inhabitants, 2.5 million foreigners flew here.

For Iceland is still recovering from political instability and terrorist attacks Tunisia (5). Further - Vietnam (6), Uruguay (7), Nicaragua (8) and Mongolia (9).