Segway Mobile Tourism Information Points Hit Tel Aviv and Jaffa

As part of its overall activities to improve service for tourists visiting the city this summer, the Association for Tourism Tel Aviv-Jaffa has introduced Segway mobile information points onto the city streets.

The unique, colorful Segways can be found on the streets of Tel Aviv seven days a week from 13:00 – 19:00, particularly in areas of concentrated tourist traffic such as the Tel Aviv Port, the boardwalk or tayelet along the seashore, Jaffa, the Neveh Tzedek neighborhood and Rothschild Boulevard. The stewards on the Segways offer tourists general information and details about events and special happenings in the city, and distribute maps, flyers and promotional material that will help the tourist make the most out of his time in the city.

Etty Gargir, Director of the Association for Tourism Tel Aviv-Jaffa: 2007 was a record year for tourism in Tel Aviv, registering an increase of 23% in the numbers of tourists visiting the city over the previous year. During 2007, income from tourist overnights in the city exceeded 2 billion shekel.

Given the anticipated increase in tourism this year, we have introduced the Segway mobile information points in order to improve the level of service we offer tourists visiting Tel Aviv. This initiative, the first of its kind in Israel, is part of our overall preparedness for the anticipated increase in tourism generally and for the city’s centenary in particular.

Tourists can also access information from the renovated Tourism Information Center on Herbert Samuel Street on Tel Aviv’s boardwalk, open seven days a week. The Association also recently launched a new, tourist-friendly website.

Meanwhile, the city is gearing up for its centenary in 2009, planning a rich and varied program of special events, festivals, happenings and attractions from April – December 2009. These include, among others, open-air performances, theater, film and dance festivals, historical and art exhibits, a nostalgic festival saluting old Tel Aviv and the rich Bauhaus heritage that gave the city its UNESCO World Heritage designation as a “White City”, and the opening of a new museum charting the city’s history.