The early arrival of the Jewish New Year is proving to be a sweet one for tourism in Israel this September.

Jewish travellers have taken advantage of the proximity of the High Holy Days to the traditional holiday month of August to take an early break in the holy land.

In addition, 8,000 Christians are heading to Jerusalem to attend the Festival of Tabernacles from September 21-25.

The Tourism Ministry has released a statement saying that its staff has “been making preparations to welcome the 300,000 tourists expected to visit Israel during the holidays in Tishrei [corresponding to September]”

Inspection teams have been checking the readiness of hotels and the levels of maintenance and cleanliness at tourist sites throughout Israel.

El Al has acted to cater for the extra demand by adding 65 flights to its schedule, equalling 25,000 seats. Elyezer Shkedy, the airline’s CEO, said: “El Al has done all that is possible to ensure that those who travel to and from Israel have the best option with our airline. We have added seats to accommodate tourists to Israel.”