A successful ITB Berlin 2012:Support for the partner country Egypt

Press Conference Egypt
H.E. Amr El Ezabi, Chairman of the Egyptian Tourist Authority; H.E. Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, Egyptian Minister of Tourism; H.E. Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt; H.E. Hisham Zaazou, Senior Assistant Minister of Tourism; Mohamed Gamal, General director, Tourism Department of the Egyptian Consulate General

The partner country Egypt was aware of the strong solidarity shown by the international travel industry. Mounir Fahkry Abdel Nour, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism: “ITB was fantastic! I enjoyed every minute of it and met some fascinating and outstanding people. In addition to the support that I received I am very happy that the problems in a political context have not affected the general mood in the slightest, in fact quite the contrary.

 All our German partners declared their solidarity with us, including the Federal Minister of Economics Philipp Rösler. In personal discussions with Klaus Brähmig, Chairman of the Tourism Committee of the Bundestag, the representatives of the Egyptian parliament and I were able to resolve the confusion that arose as a result of his critical remarks regarding Egypt. It seems to me that ITB Berlin is growing larger all the time, and it is vibrant and more lively than ever. This could be my impression because we are the partner country this year. As a consequence of events taking place around the world the entire travel industry is in transition. This ITB is different from last year’s. I am experiencing a willingness among countries to cooperate and I find this very encouraging.”

The Egypt hall provided opportunities for visitors to use various social media platforms to find out about the political situation within the country. Facilities were available for linking up with Egyptian internet users, to make use of a real time live stream showing vacation centres and resorts in Egypt, or to exchange views and thoughts with Egyptians via Facebook and Twitter.