Egypt appoints well-known tourism veteran as new Minister of Tourism

Mohamed Hisham Abbas Zaazou

new Minister of Tourism

Hisham Zaazou, formerly the Senior Assistant to Egypt’s Minister of Tourism, has been named the new Minister of Tourism for this global destination.

Zaazou comes to this position after 30+ years in the public and private sectors. Beginning in 1980 in North America with R&H Tourism Co., he expanded operations to Egypt. He then moved on to Sakkara Travel as General Manager. His interest in the role of the public sector and tourism started when he was elected as the Director General of the Egyptian Tourism Federation followed by his appointment as Assistant to the Minister of Tourism (2008).

In 1982, Egypt had 1.4 million visitors, expanding to 12.5 million in 2009 with revenue increasing from US$300 million (1982) to US$10.6 billion (2009). Egypt became the 19th most important worldwide tourism destinations and took first place in the Middle East, North Africa, and Africa in share of market. However, in 2011, tourism to the destination dropped over 33 percent.

Tourism sustainability 

Looking to future growth, Zaazou is aware of the many issues that make sustainable tourism controversial. Some industry experts suggest that too many tourists destroy a destination and Zaazou concurs: “If we don’t do anything, one day we may lose even the great pyramids, because the congestion is humongous. It will be a crime if we sabotage them.”

Public-private partnerships go green

Zaazou believes that visitor numbers can be regulated, projecting that Egypt can support 20-25 million tourists. The National Sustainable Tourism Plan (NSTP) has been designed to provide regulatory means to reach the sustainability objective. The Ministry is investing US$276 million in green projects with 52 percent coming from the government and international donations, and the remainder from private initiatives.

Source markets

Tourism growth is likely to come from Argentina, Brazil, China, and India. Zaasou intends to review the country’s high airport tax and take steps to reduce it. There is also an interest in increasing air lift by Sun Express and Air Berlin.

Background

Hisham Zaazou studied accounting at the Ain Sham University in Cairo, graduating in 1976 with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting. He received his post graduate certificate in Public Private Partnerships from the Harvard/Kennedy School of Business and the UNWTO certificate for courses in Tourism Sustainability, the New Consumer, and New Technologies for Promotion.

The Second UNWTO International Conference on Tourism and Media Starts on Thursday in Marsa Alam, Egypt

Conference titled " Working with the Media during Challenging Times".

Abu Dhabi, 25 April 2012: As a sign of the Egyptian tourism industry's continuous recovery; the Second World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) International Conference on Tourism and Media will begin on Thursday 26, April 2012 under the patronage of the Ministry of Tourism- Egypt and Egyptian Tourist Authority in Egypt (ETA).

H.E. Mounir Fakhry Abd ElNour, Minister of Tourism of Egypt, and Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of UNWTO will be opening the conference, which will run until Friday 27th April. , . The event will include over 400 participants and officials from international organizations and tourism and media representatives from Arab countries such as Kuwait, Bahrain, Libya, Lebanon, Jordan, Sudan and Egypt.

The conference will emphasize Egypt's pioneering position as a host to the most important historical, cultural, and artistic events in the region. Furthermore, it stresses on Egypt's standing as a favorable destination for tourists around the world. Titled "Working with the Media during Challenging Times;" the conference will highlight the role of tourism in media, and will review the practices of successful communication in addition to discussing the most important tools to achieve a clear vision on media and tourism communication.

Commenting on Egypt's hosting of this important event; Amr El Ezaby, Chairman of ETA, welcomed all participants in this conference and praised the key role played by media to support and stimulate tourism in Egypt, where the Ministry of tourism and the ETA continue to host significant international conferences and meetings in the field of tourism.

"The media has played a significant and effective role in developing and promoting the tourism culture to the public and the Arab world. We will continue to work on strengthening our bonds with the media to help develop our mechanisms of providing accurate information and delivering them in a timely manner. This will allow media outlets the ability to portray the true picture of Egypt's current situation and to broadcast accurate news thereby reinforcing their credibility. Furthermore, the Arab and international media have contributed in clarifying the true image of the situation in Egypt during the last couple of months, which was reflected in the growth of the number of tourists coming to that increased by 32% during the first quarter of 2012 compared with the first quarter of last year," El Ezaby said.

El Ezaby added: "During the last period, ETA's strategy focused on the Arab markets including the UAE market for it has the ability to support the Egyptian tourism sector. In addition, the UAE media, in all its divisions, played an important role in promoting tourism in Egypt, which was clearly evident in the increase in numbers of Emirati visitors by 15.4% during the first quarter of this year."

Moreover, the participants in the Second International Conference of UNWTO will seek to understand some of the pillars that illustrate the method adopted by media in its planning strategies. Additionally, the participants will examine the mechanisms that enable the tourism sector to have an active role in the media. Furthermore, the conference is scheduled to discuss the latest international best practices in the field of handling and dealing with the media during periods of crisis, which offers positive support for the efforts made to overcome them. Also, ways to own and establish more effective relations with the bodies and tourism authorities with different mass media will also be discussed.

In line with strengthening its position as one of the most important tourist destinations in the region and around the world, ; Egypt participated as a partner in the opening ceremony of "ITB Berlin International 2012" exhibition, one of the most significant global events in the field of tourism.

The Egyptian Tourist Authority

Egyptian Tourist Authority was established in March 1981, by presidential decree No. 134 endorsing a recommendation by the Minister of Tourism. The Authority is dedicated to promoting Egypt as a first class tourist destination, in line with the rise of tourism marketing as an independent discipline and the emergence of new tourism promotion tools. The Authority responded to the increasing competition in the travel and tourism industry, by adopting an advanced structure capable of dynamically dealing with the situation. The completion is due to the rising number of new attractive destinations, budget airlines and the huge progress made by the airlines industry.

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© Press Release 2012