--- description: The 10-day luxury trips are worth $55,000. title: This Year's Oscars Swag Bag Comes with a Free Trip to Israel image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a6bc2268bec72ec/69887d3e196cf4bddb03a4a8/academy-awards-swag-bags-israel.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Year's Oscars Swag Bag Comes With a Free Trip to Israel  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 11, 2016 4:30 PM CUT  HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 22: A general view of Oscar Statuettes backstage during the 87th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on February 22, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images) HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 22: A general view of Oscar Statuettes backstage during the 87th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on February 22, 2015 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images)Christopher Polk—Getty Images  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 11, 2016 4:30 PM CUT The value for the Academy Awards swag bags has shot up to [$220,000 this year](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/02/11/this-years-oscar-swag-bag-includes-a-55000-trip-to-israel/ "undefined") — thanks, in part, to Israel. Oscars gift bags for the nominees are [enviable](http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/02/26/the-8-most-opulent-gifts-in-the-oscar-swag-bags/#ixzz2LqfEd9Ns "undefined") [every](http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/02/24/a-look-inside-the-oscars-swag-bags-the-9-most-extravagant-gifts/ "undefined") [year](http://entertainment.time.com/2014/02/28/oscar-nominees-85000-gift-bag/ "undefined"), as they heap gifts worth tens of thousands of dollars onto some of the few people who may be able to afford the indulgences themselves. This year’s bag is worth [almost $100,000 more than in 2015](http://time.com/money/3712601/what-oscars-cost-hollywood/ "undefined") and includes Audi leases, lakeside hotel getaways, personal trainers, personalized M&Ms plus an all-expenses-paid trip to Israel, the Washington _Post_ [reports](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/02/11/this-years-oscar-swag-bag-includes-a-55000-trip-to-israel/ "undefined"). The Israel Tourism Ministry and the travel company ExploreIsrael.com gifted the $55,000 trips to the nominees for best actress, best actor, best supporting actress and best supporting actor (and they threw in a trip for host Chris Rock). All can bring plus-ones to the 10-day travel pack, which includes first-class air travel into Tel-Aviv and, more importantly, “all the falafel you can eat.” The ministry has been working to attract high-profile visitors, and publicize Israel as a luxury destination rather than merely a conflict zone. The swag bags regularly include [trips abroad](http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/02/26/the-8-most-opulent-gifts-in-the-oscar-swag-bags/slide/premier-tours-african-safari/ "undefined"), but the trips do not usually have the potential of being politicized like free trips to Israel could be. “These are the most senior people in the film industry in Hollywood and leading opinion-formers who we are interested in hosting here in Israel so that they will experience the country first hand and not through the media,” [said](http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/oscars-nominees-pressured-not-accept-free-trip-israel-article-1.2527284 "undefined") Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin in a statement. Los Angles-based Distinctive Assets released the estimate for the swag bag value this year. \[[_Washington Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/02/11/this-years-oscar-swag-bag-includes-a-55000-trip-to-israel/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4217355/israel-oscars-swag-bag/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4217355/israel-oscars-swag-bag/"},"headline":"This Year's Oscars Swag Bag Comes With a Free Trip to Israel","datePublished":"2016-02-11T16:30:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:00:09.015Z","description":"The 10-day luxury trips are worth $55,000.","url":"https://time.com/4217355/israel-oscars-swag-bag/","keywords":["movies","Israel","Oscars"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a6bc2268bec72ec/69887d3e196cf4bddb03a4a8/academy-awards-swag-bags-israel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a6bc2268bec72ec/69887d3e196cf4bddb03a4a8/academy-awards-swag-bags-israel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"academy awards swag bags israel","caption":"academy awards swag bags israel","creditText":"Christopher Polk—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4217355/israel-oscars-swag-bag/","name":"This Year's Oscars Swag Bag Comes With a Free Trip to Israel"}}]}] ```