1 August 2010

NO FLOATING VOTERS!
THE TOURISM MINISTRY LAUNCHES DEDICATED MULTI-LINGUAL WEBSITE AND SOCIAL
MEDIA CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE THE DEAD SEA AS A UNIQUE TOURIST DESTINATION AND
AS A FINALIST IN THE NEW7WONDERS OF NATURE CAMPAIGN
Lydia Weitzman, Foreign Press Adviser to the Ministry of Tourism
Tel: 052 3584395 Email: tourism.gov.il@gmail.com
www.goisrael.com www.holyland-pilgrimage.org

As part of its global marketing campaign to promote the Dead Sea as a unique
tourist destination and as a finalist in the New7Wonders of Nature online
campaign, the Tourism Ministry has launched a dedicated multi-lingual Dead
Sea website (www.votedeadsea.com) and a social media campaign to include
Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.

Under the slogan “The Deepest Wonder of the World”, the English-language
website, which will shortly be available in Russian, French, German,
Italian, Portuguese, Chinese and Korean, will link to the campaign voting
pages and serves as an information resource about the region and the Dead
Sea’s candidacy in the global New7Wonders of Nature campaign. Visitors to
the site can access information on the natural, religious, historical and
cultural sites in the area, health and wellness tourism, tourism
accommodation and attractions, as well as a monthly newsletter and detailed
information on the New7Wonders campaign and voting. The website, Facebook,
Twitter and Youtube pages will be constantly updated with news and
information about the latest Dead Sea rankings in the campaign, events,
festivals, promotions, competitions etc.

Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov, head of the Official Supporting Committee
of the Dead Sea campaign, noted that the new global online campaign will
bring the wonders of the Dead Sea to the awareness of millions around the
world. “The Dead Sea, one of Israel’s natural and tourism treasures, offers
visitors a unique experience rich in history, archaeology and wellness. With
this online campaign, we invite veteran fans and supporters of the Dead Sea
, and those who are discovering it for the first time, to visit and vote for
it in the campaign..”

The Dead Sea has consistently remained among the top 14 of the 28 finalists
since the final stage of the New7Wonders of Nature campaign began in July
2009. Other finalists include the Amazon River, the Galapagos Islands, the
Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef and the Maldives. About a billion votes
are expected to be cast before campaign ends on 11.11.11 and it is estimated
that the winning seven finalists will need to secure about 300-400 million
votes.

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The Dead Sea is one of Israel’s most popular tourism sites, with
approximately 45% of all incoming tourists visiting the lowest point on
earth. The tourism industry includes 15 hotels along the shoreline, an
additional 19 guest houses in the region’s kibbutzim and villages and many
businesses, all of which employ some 4500 workers.

Voting for Dead Sea - under the slogan “No floating voters! Vote for the
Dead Sea as one of the New7Wonders of Nature - is available:

· via the Tourism Ministry’s websites (www.goisrael.com and
www.votedeadsea.com)
· the campaign’s website (www.new7wonders.com)
· via SMS from Israeli mobile phones only by sending the words Dead
Sea in English, Hebrew or Arabic to 2244 . Multiple SMS votes are possible
at a cost of NIS 1 each.
· http://www.facebook.com/VoteDeadSea
· http://www.youtube.com/user/VoteDeadSea
http://twitter.com/votedeadsea