JERUSALEM, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The number of tourist visits in Israel during the first quarter of 2022 has jumped by 98.2 percent year on year, according to data issued by the country's Central Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

       The number of tourist arrivals in Israel in January-March reached 303,400, up from 153,100 in October-December 2021 and 16,800 in the first quarter last year.

       In March alone, 167,300 tourists arrived in Israel, a gradual rise from 89,900 in February and 46,200 in January.

       In March 2020, following the COVID-19 outbreak, Israel closed its borders to foreign nationals, apart from exceptional cases.

       In 2021, Israel gradually allowed the entry of tourists, but in late November it closed the borders again after the spread of the Omicron variant.

       At the beginning of 2022, Israel permitted entry of vaccinated and recovered tourists and then, in early March, of all tourists, vaccinated and unvaccinated alike, leading to the recent jump in tourist arrivals.