Jerusalem, Israel -- (SBWire) -- 02/02/2011 -- This year, IMTM –the annual International Mediterranean Tourism Market to be held 8-9 February 2011 at the Israel Trade Fairs and Convention Center in Tel Aviv – will spotlight voting for the Dead Sea in the New7Wonders campaign.

Organizers of IMTM are promoting the Dead Sea global voting campaign, featuring it in advertisements for the event and other activities within the IMTM show areas. At the opening ceremony, awards for People of the Year in Tourism will be conferred on key people in Israeli culture and tourism, including members of the Israel Opera and the Dead Sea regional councils. Against all odds, they created the Israel Opera Festival at the foot of Masada in June 2010. The largest cultural event ever staged in Israel, Nabucco at Masada featured a specially-erected stage, amphitheater and foyer which attracted thousands of opera-lovers from Israel and overseas to the Dead Sea region. The 2011 festival will feature the opera Aida at Masada, as well as additional opera performances in Jerusalem.

The New7Wonders of Nature campaign was launched in 2007, with the initial participation of 440 sites from 220 countries. Over a billion votes are expected to be cast in the campaign. The Dead Sea is one of 28 finalists, with the final results due to be announced on 11.11.11. Voting can take place the website (www.n7w.com) or by sending an SMS to the number 2244 with the words “Dead Sea.”

Eyal Shmueli, publisher and editor-in-chief of Israel Travel News magazine, and one of the architects of IMTM says: "The Dead Sea’s participation in the campaign’s final stage is a tremendous milestone in establishing Israel as a tourism magnet; it marks the growing recognition that the Dead Sea is enjoying. Apart from the honor that Israel would get by winning, taking part also has major significance for regional development, creating jobs in the Eastern Negev, demographic growth, and important implications for developing the State of Israel. So at IMTM we have taken on the task of helping the Dead Sea to be chosen as one of the 7 new wonders of nature and we all hope that we’ll pull it off.”

The Dead Sea is one of the finalists in the Seven Natural Wonders of the World campaign.
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