TOURISM MINISTRY AND ICT AUTHORITY IN THE PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE LAUNCH A
HACKATHON TO DEVELOP TOURISM APPS

Tourism Minister Yariv Levin: "As part of the changes that we are
spearheading in the Tourism Ministry and the move to more digital and
interactive marketing, we have initiated the first hackathon to develop
tourism apps which will be based on databases developed in the ministry. I
call on entrepreneurs with the start-up spirit to participate in this
competition and, beyond the personal experience, to contribute to the
important goal of promoting incoming tourism to Israel. I am sure that,
thanks to the participants' creativity and innovation, we will achieve
amazing results and useful apps that will improve the tourist experience in
Israel."

Jerusalem, December 16, 2015 - The Tourism Ministry and the ICT Authority in
the Office of the Prime Minister are launching a hackathon that will take
place on February 8-9, 2016. The hackathon will be aimed at independent
development teams who will develop apps based on Tourism Ministry databases
open to the public. The hackathon will take place within the framework of
the Innovation Conference at the International Mediterranean Tourist Market
(IMTM ) that will take place February 9-10, 2016 in the Tel Aviv
Fairgrounds.

Head of the ICT Authority in the Office of the Prime Minister Yair Frank:
"Making government databases accessible to the public is a top priority for
the ICT Authority. There are many start-ups in Israel and many entrepreneurs
and app developers with vision who can help create new services for the
public based on these government databases. Making the databases accessible
is one of the most significant missions of the ICT Authority in order to
strengthen the start-up nation and even contribute to a transparent and
egalitarian discourse in Israel. We congratulate the Tourism Ministry on
making available these significant databases which could help improve the
tourist experience in Israel and we will continue to support and initiate
similar projects in other government ministries."

Open databases are part of a broader venture that the ministry is currently
uploading in a beta version: info.goisrael.com

Registration for the competition: http://hackathon.tourism.gov.il/

Within the framework of the initiative, the Tourism Ministry is publishing a
wide-ranging database that includes all the information that a tourist needs
in order to plan a visit to Israel, including hotels, B&Bs, trails, tour
guides etc. The database, that will first be launched in Hebrew and English,
will be translated into other languages.

The Information Department at the Tourism Ministry came to the conclusion
that, in order to create varied tourism apps that will allow a strong
digital presence for the State of Israel in this area, there is a need for a
wide-ranging, quality, updated and multi-lingual database. As these
activities are challenging and complex to implement for small companies or
app developers, it was decided that the ministry would make these tools
available for the public.

The databases will be published at http://data.gov.il and interested
parties who would like to develop apps can focus on their relative advantage
in developing digital innovation in tourism.

Leading people in the tourism industry in Israel and worldwide will serve as
judges in the competition, alongside Tourism Ministry Director-General Amir
Halevi and Head of the ICT Authority in the Office of the Prime Minister
Yair Frank. Tourism Minister Yariv Levin will present the prize to the
winning team.