Minister of Tourism, Haim Katz: “The Minister of Tourism Award is intended to honor the people behind Israeli tourism – the entrepreneurs and workers who generate significant economic and informational value for the State of Israel. Congratulations to the winning initiatives, which have demonstrated optimal execution of a vision that combines quality tourism with the preservation of natural resources.”
Director General of the Ministry of Tourism, Michael Yitzhakov: “The initiatives that won today prove that quality tourism can go hand in hand with values of sustainability, community, and environment, and contribute to the economy and employment. The Ministry of Tourism will continue to support sustainable tourism and initiatives that promote it.”
For the first time, today, the Minister of Tourism Award was presented to two outstanding initiatives in the field of sustainable tourism in Israel. The award was given to Kibbutz Lotan in the Arava and to Rum Farm on Mount Kamon. The winning initiatives will be showcased at the Ministry of Tourism’s pavilion at the major international tourism fair, ITB in Berlin, which will take place in March 2026, and will receive broad global exposure.
The festive award ceremony was held at the Knesset, and it is part of a policy led by Minister Haim Katz, to promote initiatives that combine environmental preservation and community contribution with responsible economic growth.
In the competition, initiated by the Minister of Tourism’s advisor, Bat Sheva Strauchler, 46 initiatives participated, from which five were selected for the final. After the initiatives were presented to a committee established for this purpose, two winners were chosen based on the highest average score.
The committee members who chose the initiatives: Prof. Yitzhak Kreiss, Director General of Sheba Medical Center – Chairman of the Committee; Mr. Dovi Amity, Chairman of the Presidium of the Business Sector in Israel; Mr. Yossi Fatael, Director General of the Israel Incoming Tour Operators Association; Ms. Bat Sheva Strauchler, Office of the Minister of Tourism; Ms. Rakefet Levi, Senior Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Tourism’s Tourist Experience Administration; Mr. Adam Arbel, Senior Deputy Director General for Policy Planning and Strategy, Ministry of Tourism.
Kibbutz Lotan presented the committee with a unique tourism model based on natural building and the use of earth as a raw material.
The complex offers a visitor center for creative ecology, mud-built guest rooms, an ecological kitchen, and additional ecological tourism facilities for guests, alongside vegetable gardens and organic cultivation.
Lotan is a space for tourists seeking quiet, desert, and a deep connection to nature and community.
Rum Farm on Mount Kamon offers an “Adam-Nature-Community” experience through special accommodation in light construction and “from field to plate” culinary experiences. In addition, the site operates a resilience and rehabilitation program for post-trauma sufferers from the war, as well as utilizing solar energy, water recycling, and construction from recycled materials.
Both initiatives demonstrate how tourism can become a significant tool for social rehabilitation and environmental preservation, and serve as inspiration for the continued development of sustainable tourism in Israel.
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