As a new step in the way of becoming a Smart Tourism City, Tel Aviv is leading an integration of travel apps made in Tel Aviv into 12% of the city’s hotels. The apps will allow tourists to enjoy improved communication with the hotels before and during their stay, enhanced segmentation in suggesting activities and events, advanced tourist profiling for hotel marketers, and more.

Tel Aviv was awarded Smartest City in the World in 2014 and was ranked the #1 startup ecosystem outside of the United States in 2015. In addition, the city was recently ranked as one of the top tourist destinations by Lonely Planet.

Tel Aviv is currently investing in becoming a Smart Tourism City, combining its specialties in the field of tourism and technology.

Some of the participating technologies include:

Howazit, which provides a seamless connection between guests and hotels throughout the different phases of the visit;

Dotz, which offers the ideal events guide for visitors based on their geo location and personal interests;

Aspectiva, which offers customer review insights.

The participating hotels are: Royal Beach, Isrotel Tower, the Dan Group hotels, Deborah, Golden Beach, Arkadia Tower, Carlton, Mergoza, West, Alexander, Embassy, Cucu and Port.

Eytan Schwartz, CEO of Tel Aviv Global and Tourism: “Tel Aviv has been recognized as one of the world’s smartest cities, taking advantage of its flourishing Startup Ecosystem to improve its residents’ quality of life. This smart quality is now being leveraged in our tourism industry as part of the Smart Hotels initiative: to make the experience of visiting Tel Aviv easier, more connected and fun, while lowering the price of vacationing in our Nonstop City. The result will benefit international tourists, Israeli visitors, and local startups.”

Dr. Isaac Mizrachi, Director of Tourism at Tel Aviv Global: “It is our duty as a DMO (Destination Marketing Organization) to facilitate innovation across the tourism map of the city. There is such a dynamic startup scene here in Tel Aviv and many great products, that it would be a shame not to exploit that for the benefit of both visitors and businesses.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)