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27 April 2017
After years of unrest and terrorist attacks, Egyptian tourism officials are approaching international figures and celebrities to act as social influencers, asking them to visit the country and promote its attractions and historical sites on social media, in a bid to encourage tourists to return to the country.
Hisham El Demery, chairman of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Board, a government entity in charge of promoting the sector, said prominent football player Lionel Messi and American actor Will Smith were invited to visit Egypt a few weeks ago.
"We are investing to host more international figures... We are looking forward to have famous singers to come to Egypt and have concerts in front of the pyramids."
The number of tourists visiting Egypt's resorts and ancient sites slumped to 5.3 million last year, El Demery said in an interview on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.
The figure was a big drop from 9.3 million seen in 2015 and from over 14.7 million in 2010, a year before the start of the Arab Spring uprisings in January 2011. The revolt, which was followed by years of political and economic upheaval, badly affected country’s economy and cut the flow of tourists and businesses.
However, El Demery said the country is not going to change it in order to appeal to a specific type of mass market tourist.
"Egypt is very much cosmopolitan. We have diversity of faiths and traditions, in addition to diversity of products to fit all interests and all beliefs. We have mosques and casinos so it fits different kind of clients and people have never felt disturbed or annoyed of having this beside that,” El Demery said
His views were echoed by Taleb Rifai, secretary general of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), who lauded Saudi Arabia’s strategy of focusing on Islamic and domestic tourism and not pandering to the global market.
“If and when a foreigner is to come to Saudi Arabia, he does not come because he wants to see women unveiled or because he wants to drink. The world is open for this, he can go anywhere else. They come to our part of the world to see us the way we are, to experience our culture,” he told Zawya in an interview on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.
“We are in principle at UNWTO against cultures, societies and communities changing just to please their visitors. It is the other way around actually - it is the visitors that have to come and respect what we have and live with it and enjoy it as a different experience for them.”
Further reading:
© Express 2017
After years of unrest and terrorist attacks, Egyptian tourism officials are approaching international figures and celebrities to act as social influencers, asking them to visit the country and promote its attractions and historical sites on social media, in a bid to encourage tourists to return to the country.
Hisham El Demery, chairman of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Board, a government entity in charge of promoting the sector, said prominent football player Lionel Messi and American actor Will Smith were invited to visit Egypt a few weeks ago.
"We are investing to host more international figures... We are looking forward to have famous singers to come to Egypt and have concerts in front of the pyramids."
The number of tourists visiting Egypt's resorts and ancient sites slumped to 5.3 million last year, El Demery said in an interview on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.
The figure was a big drop from 9.3 million seen in 2015 and from over 14.7 million in 2010, a year before the start of the Arab Spring uprisings in January 2011. The revolt, which was followed by years of political and economic upheaval, badly affected country’s economy and cut the flow of tourists and businesses.
However, El Demery said the country is not going to change it in order to appeal to a specific type of mass market tourist.
"Egypt is very much cosmopolitan. We have diversity of faiths and traditions, in addition to diversity of products to fit all interests and all beliefs. We have mosques and casinos so it fits different kind of clients and people have never felt disturbed or annoyed of having this beside that,” El Demery said
His views were echoed by Taleb Rifai, secretary general of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), who lauded Saudi Arabia’s strategy of focusing on Islamic and domestic tourism and not pandering to the global market.
“If and when a foreigner is to come to Saudi Arabia, he does not come because he wants to see women unveiled or because he wants to drink. The world is open for this, he can go anywhere else. They come to our part of the world to see us the way we are, to experience our culture,” he told Zawya in an interview on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.
“We are in principle at UNWTO against cultures, societies and communities changing just to please their visitors. It is the other way around actually - it is the visitors that have to come and respect what we have and live with it and enjoy it as a different experience for them.”
Further reading:
- New archaeological finds helping Egypt's image tourism sector
- SwissBelhotel to manage new hotel to be built on Egypt's north coast - Official
- Egypt aims to boost GCC tourists by 25% this year - official
- New Egyptian investment law to be issued in May - PM
- Jordan and Egypt can benefit from joint tourism strategy
- Egypt eyes return to preuprising tourist numbers - minister
© Express 2017
