Dead Sea loses 'wonder of nature' bid
(Video) Great disappointment for Israel: Lowest place on earth fails to make it to New7Wonders of Nature list. Winners are Amazon, Halong Bay, Iguazu Falls, Jeju Island, Komodo, Puerto Princesa Underground River and Table Mountain
VIDEO - The Dead Sea has lost its bid to become one of the New7Wonders of Nature. The winners, announced Friday evening, include Amazon, Halong Bay, Iguazu Falls, Jeju Island, Komodo, Puerto Princesa Underground River and Table Mountain.
Amazon. One of New7Wonders of Nature (Photo: Shutterstock)
Earlier Friday, the the New7Wonders of Nature Foundation reported that the Dead Sea was among the top 14 finalists. Voting concluded on Friday, November 11, at 1:11 pm (Israel time).
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov issued a special call to Israel's citizens on Wednesday to vote for the Dead Sea in the New7Wonders of Nature competition.
According to Netanyahu, "Winning will turn the Dead Sea into one of the world's leading tourism sites, will contribute not just to us but to the rest of the countries in the region, and will boost regional cooperation."
South Africa's Table Mountain (Photo: Damian Yaffe)
Misezhnikov said, "We believe in victory and strive to win. We are using the time left till the end of the vote for the last-minute national effort to encourage friends, relatives and acquaintances in Israel and abroad to vote for the Dead Sea and help it win the long-awaited title."
According to figures released by the Government Advertising Bureau, some 285,000 people visited the Dead Sea website this month, and some 1.1 million since the start of the campaign.
The number of entries is led by visitors from China, followed by the United States and Russia. An English-language Facebook page operated by the Tourism Ministry has a total of 110,000 members.
