Tel Aviv, Jul 7 (IANS): Foreign tourist arrivals in Israel rose by 19.2 per cent in the first half of 2021 compared to the second half of 2020, according to data released by the country's Central Bureau of Statistics.

The number of tourists who visited Israel in January-June reached 107,000, compared to 89,800 in July-December last year, reports Xinhua news agency citing the Bureau as saying on Tuesday.

However, compared to the first half of 2020 when 741,600 tourists arrived in Israel, the new figure reflects a drop of 85.6 per cent.

Foreign tourist arrivals in Israel in June were 6.6 times higher than the same period of last year, from 5,800 to 38,500.

In mid-March, Israel reopened its skies following a decision to remove some restrictions on incoming and outgoing flights.

On May 23, Israel began allowing the entry of vaccinated tourist groups, as part of the measures to further ease Covid-19 restrictions.

The number of Israelis who travelled abroad in the first half increased by 64.3 per cent to 691,300, compared to 420,700 in the second half of last year.

The number of Israelis who went abroad in June reached almost 300,000, compared to only 16,100 in June 2020.