As the cradle of the world's three great religions, Jerusalem has enormous potential to increase revenues from marketing the city's unique cultural and historical sites both to local and incoming tourists, thereby creating hundreds of additional jobs.

After holding a highly successful Tourism and Culture cluster conference in 2005, SUJ is working to create suitable cultural products and packages for different tourist segments and marketing them through a variety of means including an innovative interactive website and up-to-date database, thus increasing tourist days and money spent in the city. In the long-term SUJ hopes to help reposition the city so that it attracts a greater number of tourists, as well as higher-spending tourism segments.

Thanks to a generous donation of the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, and with the assistance of Bank Leumi, StartUp Jerusalem is in the process of setting up a high-level, interactive, constantly updated website, offering a one-stop shop opportunity for tour groups and individual tourists. The website will offer tailor-made packages for various segments of tourist populations, on-line hotel and event booking, updated calendars, and much, much more.

Nir Barkat is the Chairman of the Culture & Tourism Cluster.

To find out more about SUJ's work in this area please contact Cluster Manager Ilanit Melchior by email at ilanit@startupjerusalem.org or call +972-2-561-7587.