| Minister | The Hon John Eren MP |
|---|---|
| Portfolio | Minister for Tourism and Major Events Minister for Sport Minister for Veterans |
| Countries visited | Israel |
| Date of travel | 28 October 2017 |
| No of official travel days (including date of departure and date of return) | 6 |
| Accompanying ministerial staff |
Ms Christina Smith, Chief of Staff |
| Accompanied by spouse in an official capacity | No |
| Funding source | Premier's Private Office and the Department of Premier and Cabinet |
| Airfares (including taxes and fees) | $24,383.70 |
| Accommodation (including taxes and fees) | $4,189.12 |
| Other expenses (includes surface travel and travel allowances) | $2,643.17 |
| Travel cost for minister and staff | $31,215.99 |
| Are the above costs final and complete? | No |
Purpose of travel
To represent the Premier of Victoria at the international 100th anniversary commemorations of the Battle of Beersheba and the Sinai-Palestine campaign at Be’er Sheva, Israel on 31 October 2017 - the trip falls into Strategic Objective 13d, which is Representing Victoria at strategically significant events.
In addition, to attend meetings in Tel Aviv with the sports technology industry at the Olympia Zone, the Tel Aviv Municipality (Director of Tourism) and Ministry of Culture and Sport (General Director).
Benefits of travel to the State of Victoria
Beersheba
Battle of Beersheba
On 11 August 1914, the 4th Light Horse Regiment was raised in Melbourne, as the divisional cavalry regiment of the 1st Division. The Battle of Beersheba took place on 31 October 1917 as part of the wider British offensive collectively known as the third Battle of Gaza.
The final phase of this all day battle was the famous mounted charge of the 4th Light Horse Brigade. The brigade successfully seized the strategic town of Beersheba. The capture of Beersheba enabled British Empire forces to break the Ottoman line near Gaza on 7 November and advance into Palestine.
I attended all day commemorations at Be’er Sheva alongside my Parliamentary colleague David Southwick MP. It was a great honour to represent Victoria as the Minister for Veterans on this historic occasion.
Olympia zone
The Israeli Sports Tech industry has been growing rapidly in the last two years with increasing demand from sport and rising investor interest in the sector. Israel is now considered a leading source of innovation for global sports organisations, behind only the USA.
Olympia Zone is a sports innovation start-up studio that is exclusively focused on integrating tech innovation into sport. It serves as a platform for entrepreneurs and start-ups to develop their products and to gain strategic access to international teams, leagues, stadium operators, players, investors, media companies and sports organisations.
During my visit I met with a number of sport technology start-ups with potential to expand their operations into Victoria.
Israeli Ministry of Culture and Sport
I met with the General Director of Culture and Sport, Mr Yossi Sharabi to discuss the Maccabiah Games and community sport and sporting events.
Maccabi is an organisation that represents Jewish sportsmen and women around the world. The Maccabi World Union (MWU) represents more than 500,000 members in over 60 countries participating in just about every sporting code.
The Victorian government promotes Jewish identity and continuity – connecting the Jewish community through sport. SRV currently support this initiative through supporting Victorian Sport and Recreation program. I outlined our intention to continue to support the Jewish community through sports initiatives into the future.
Municipality of Tel Aviv regarding the tourism economy
I met with Isaac Mizrachi, Director of Tourism to discuss Tel Aviv’s tourism economy and share ideas around improving brand and marketing and digital communications to visitors in our jurisdictions.
Mr Mizrachi expressed interest in exploring war history tourism with Australians given the importance of the battle of Beersheba in our nation’s history.
Next steps
- Invite sport technology companies to attend the VIP program in 2018
- Discuss new digital capabilities with Visit Victoria.
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