ISRAEL'S BOUNCING BACK

Tourism to Israel Up 41% in 2004 - Zeev Klein (Globes)
1.5 million tourists visited Israel in 2004, 41% more than in 2003 but still 38% fewer than in the record year of 2000, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported. 378,000 tourists visited from the U.S., an increase of 39%; 256,000 from France, up 47%; 146,000 from Great Britain, up 40%; 75,000 from Germany, up 54%; 55,000 from Russia, up 33%; 43,000 from Canada, up 38%; and 42,000 from Italy, up 60%.

Foreign Investment Up 10% in '04 (Jerusalem Post)
Foreign investment in Israel rose 10% to $6 billion in 2004 from $5.5b the previous year, the Bank of Israel said.