JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Dead Sea is one of 28 finalists in an international competition to name the seven natural wonders of the world.
The announcement was made Tuesday by the New 7 Wonders of Nature Foundation, which is organizing the competition. The Dead Sea will compete with other natural wonders such as the Amazon River, the Galapagos Islands, the Grand Canyon and the Maldives.
Competition organizers expect more than a billion people to participate in the online voting, which will continue into 2011, when the finalists will be announced.
Israeli Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov announced that over the next two years, the Tourism Ministry will lead a campaign for the Dead Sea in the contest via its 14 representative offices around the world, its Web sites in 11 languages and focused marketing activities. In the framework of the campaign, the ministry will emphasize the unique attributes of the Dead Sea and promote tourism to the area.
