[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA: the international telephone # of Tourphone:
+972-3-9754260]

20 July 2008
Ministry of Tourism
www.tourism.gov.il

TOURPHONE AT YOUR SERVICE!
A new 24 hour telephone hotline for tourists launched by the Tourism
Ministry
to provide tourists with information, directions and assistance in
emergencies

The Ministry of Tourism launched today (Sunday) its newest service, the
Tourphone. Representatives from the Tourism Ministry at Ben Gurion airport
will now offer tourists information, directions and a first response via the
telephone, 24 hours a day. Tourists can receive answers from the new hotline
(*3888 from any telephone) on services, entry and exit regulations at the
various border crossings, assistance in emergencies and information
regarding visas etc. The hotline will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Questions that can be dealt with immediately will be answered and documented
in the files kept at the hotline, while calls that require further attention
will be forwarded to the relevant authorities. The Ministry of Tourism will
investigate the possibility of widening the service and increasing the
number of operators manning the hotline, based on conclusions to be drawn
from the first few months of operation.

Tourists will be informed of the new service on arrival in Israel. An
information leaflet about the Tour Phone will be inserted into their
passports at passport control. In addition, information will be distributed
at special booths in the arrival terminal of Ben Gurion airport and at
tourist information offices around the country. The information is currently
available in English and French and will shortly be translated into Russian
and other languages. The information leaflet includes the Tourphone hotline,
the address of the Tourism Ministry's website with information on sites,
events, attractions and information on the tourism offices operating around
the country.

The Tourphone service joins another recently launched initiative aimed at
improving the quality and standard of service for tourists. The Pensioners
Patrol for Tourism and the Environment, a joint initiative of the Ministries
of Tourism, Pensioners' Affairs and Environment and the Jerusalem
Municipality, incorporates fifty specially trained senior citizen volunteers
who patrol tourism sites in the New and Old City of Jerusalem, offering
assistance and guidance to tourists and report on any problems relating to
cleanliness, security etc.

1.5 million tourists visited Israel during January - June 2008, an increase
of 45% on the first half of 2007. As a result of the increase and in keeping
with the Tourism Ministry's target of 2.8 million tourists in 2008, the new
service is designed to improve the quality of service for the tourist, while
offering a fast, helpful and welcoming response.

Director-General of the Ministry of Tourism Shaul Tzemach: "Quality and
standard of service are the most important and influential factors in a
tourist's decision to return to Israel. In addition, quality service helps
improve Israel's image in the world as a leading tourist destination. Over
the next few months, the Ministry of Tourism will work to improve the level
of service for tourists in all areas of the tourism industry."