Tourism to Israel has seen a record rise in the first half of 2017.

According to the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics, there were 1.74 million visitors in the past six months, an increase of 26 per cent on the same period last year.

In June alone, the number of arrivals was 303,400, up by 25.7 per cent on the same month in 2016.

Visitors from America, Israel’s largest source of tourism, were up by 20 per cent since January – a total of 400,600.

CBS figures showed a 31 per cent increase arrivals from Russia, at 160,800.

Tourists numbers from China saw a huge leap, up 75 per cent, with a total of 60,900 visitors from the country.

Much smaller increases were reported in tourists from France (9 per cent) and Britain (11 per cent).

Yariv Levin, Israel’s tourism minister said the overall increase was down to his ministry’s policies that “continue to prove themselves. We are seeing that our innovative marketing can bring Israel to new heights.”