Tel Aviv, Mar 24 (IANS): The total revenue of tourist hotels in Israel doubled in 2021, an official report said.

The annual report released by the Central Bureau of Statistics said the revenue of tourist hotels amounted to $2.5 billion last year, compared to $1.25 billion in 2020, Xinhua news agency reported.

The leap in revenue came after a 65 per cent drop recorded in 2020, due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.

A significant increase in hotel revenue began in the second quarter of 2021, with the gradual exit from a nationwide Covid-19 lockdown in Israel, and reached more than $1 billion in the third quarter.

The number of employees in tourist hotels in Israel rose by 25.1 per cent, from a monthly average of 21,100 in 2020 to 26,400 last year, according to the report.

In the wake of the pandemic, all tourists flying to Israel must take a PCR test 72 before flying to Israel and again on landing at the airport.

Then, they must go straight to wherever they are staying, and quarantine for up to 24 hours until they receive a negative result.