EGYPT. Egypt aims to double 2004’s record 8.1 million international tourist arrivals (ITAs) by 2014, by opening up new tourism destinations, introducing new tourism products and upgrading tourism facilities and services.
This new initiative is being led by the Egyptian Minister for Tourism, H.E. Mr. Ahmed El-Maghraby, who is attending World Travel Market (WTM) to meet industry professionals and update the global travel industry on new and future tourism developments in Egypt.
El-Maghraby commented: “Our aim is to build on Egypt’s visitor numbers in 2004 and position Egypt as a leading tourism destination. Currently, Egypt attracts millions of tourists each year, predominantly from Europe and the Middle East and we aim to broaden our appeal worldwide.
“Communicating our developments to the travel trade and press at World Travel Market is especially important given the increasing number of valued British tourists. 665,866 British holiday-makers visited Egypt between January and October 2005 (inclusive), which is a +55.2% increase compared with the same period in 2004.”
Egypt’s Mediterranean Coast is a new destination that will be opened up and promoted to international visitors. As a result the Al Alamein Airport was opened on 21 March this year to facilitate tourism in this region.
Egypt is also building on new activity-based tourism including yachting, wellness and golfing. Egypt is now host to the World’s 11th best golf course and has 16 new 18-hole top quality golf courses to offer visitors.
In addition, Egypt is upgrading tourism facilities and services. All Egyptian airports have just completed an extensive upgrade programme. Cairo Airport is now notably under the management of the Frankfurt Aviation Authority (FAA), and Alexandria, Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada, Luxor and Aswan are all being managed by Aéroports de Paris (ADP).
The upgraded facilities will be complimented by a concurrent upgrade in the quality of service through new training initiatives. A new National Tourism Awareness Campaign is being implemented to increase awareness in the domestic market about what tourism means to Egypt.
To meet the forecast increase in tourist arrivals, a construction plan is in progress to expand the existing 160,000 rooms by an additional 10,000 to 12,000 per year.
Egypt is also on a drive to attract shoppers from around the world with competitive pricing of international brands following the recent reform of customs and taxes. To this end Egypt is justly proud of its new flagship shopping centre City Stars – notably one of the biggest shopping centres in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.
Early in the New Year, Egypt will step up its marketing drive with the help of recently appointed international industry leaders DDB (Advertising), Fleishman-Hillard (PR) and OMD (Media Planning & Buying) who are preparing new worldwide marketing, advertising and PR activities.
During WTM, The Minister will also work in tandem with 44 Egyptian travel & tourism companies, all exhibiting on the Egyptian Tourism Authority stand, and meet with airline executives and key travel agents to discuss future opportunities for growth on Egypt’s inbound tourism industry.
– KEY TOURISM VISITOR FIGURES
– In 2004, International Tourist Arrivals (ITAs) reached a country record-high of 8.1 million visitors: an increase of +34.1% compared with 2003.
– Egypt attracted 7,188,161 visitors between January and October 2005 (inclusive) compared with 6,839,189 for the same period in 2004, an overall increase of +5.1%.
– 665,866 British holiday-makers visited Egypt between January and October 2005 (inclusive), a +55.2% increase compared with the same period in 2004.
– 77,838 British holiday-makers visited Egypt last month (October 2005), a +44.3% increase on October 2004.
– Tourism is a significant economic generator in Egypt employing 12.6% of the total labour workforce, providing 2.2 million jobs directly and indirectly. Every million inbound visitors represents 200,000 jobs.
