TravelPulse spoke to Mohamed Hegazy

Back to Egypt: Egyptian Tourist Authority's Hegaz Talks Tourism

Mohamed Hegazy,
the director-consul of the Egyptian Tourist Authority in New York

Ever since the Arab Spring in January 2011, most tourists from the U.S., Europe and even Asia have been afraid to travel to Egypt, even though tourists have not been targeted or disturbed in the political turmoil that surrounded the Arab Spring and its aftermath. The abandonment of Egypt by tourists has been devastating for the economy of Egypt, and the economic devastation has created widespread suffering.

But now there is light at the end of the tunnel. Finally after nearly four years of economic hardship for Egyptians, tourists are flowing back to Egypt and the tourism economy is humming again. TravelPulse spoke to Mohamed Hegazy, the director-consul of the Egyptian Tourist Authority in New York, about the hopeful changes now coming to Egypt.

TravelPulse: Is tourism coming back to Egypt?

Mohamed Hegazy: Yes, it is coming back strongly, especially in July, August and September. Our figures show more than 72 percent increase over last year. And through our conversations with tour operators and hotels we are hearing that 2015 looks really good in terms of booking.

TP: Wow, 72 percent is a lot. People must be very happy.

MH: Yes, definitely they are happy. It looks like Egypt is coming back and it looks more stable than at any time in the last three or four years.

TP: Are there any new trends in the returning tourists? Are they pretty much the same as before? Are there any changes in the way they are touring now?

MH: The basic itinerary people are following is still the same. We also have new tours following the holy family trail in Egypt, where Jesus Christ spent four years in Egypt and left all these Coptic churches. This is a new tourism product now because many of these Coptic churches are being restored and are reopened again for visiting in Old Cairo.

Also we have some new events. This month we have the Disney show in Cairo, a classic light show in the Cairo International Conference Center in order to amuse and entertain our guests from all over the world. It will be a daily show for one week, the last week of November.  

Then in December we have the opera “Aida” being staged at the Giza Pyramids. So we have many activities to surprise our tourists.

Another offering we have that is new to the U.S. market is our ecolodge product in the desert, like the one at the Siwa Oasis. This is one of the new products being presented to the U.S. Tourists, where they can enjoy a range of different safari tours and the desert environment and view the oasis.  

TP: What are you doing to get the word out and get people traveling back to Egypt.

MH: Right now we are attending several trade shows in the U.S.A. We’re also conducting seminars to update the tour operators about the latest situation and products in Egypt as well. We are offering them in Washington, D.C. and New York.

TP: How long do you think it will take to get back up to the kind of traffic you had four years ago?

MH: According to the statistics we have, we think that maybe by end of 2015 we may reach regular rate of tourism again

@http://www.travelpulse.com/news/destinations/back-to-egypt-egyptian-tourist-authoritys-hegaz-talks-tourism.html

Egyptian diver Gabr tells Ahram he seeks to break another record in February

Egyptian diver Gabr tells Ahram he seeks to break another record in February

Ahmed Gabr

Egyptian scuba diver Ahmed Gabr broke the Guinness World Record for deepest dive in September

Egyptian Guinness World Record holder for deepest scuba dive, Ahmed Gabr, said he will break another world record in February of next year.

He didn't reveal exactly what the record would be, but he said it would relate to environmental conservation of marine life

The 41-year-old former army officer completed a 14-hour dive off the coast of Dahab in South Sinai on ‎18 September, breaking the world record for deepest dive at ‎‎332.35 meters.‎

His comments were delivered during a talk at Al-Ahram held by the institution's Science Club on Sunday.

Attending the talk were Ahmed Kamel, his mentor and Middle East director of the Technical Diving ‎International organisation, and professor Ayman Wanas, vice dean of ‎engineering at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, one of ‎the expert witnesses present for the world record.‎

Gabr, Kamel and Wanas talked to the attendees about the preparations that went into the ‎record breaking, the risks Gabr faced during the attempt and why he decided to go for it.

@http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/6/56/114565/Sports/Omni-Sports/Egyptian-diver-Gabr-tells-Ahram-he-seeks-to-break-.aspx

Tourists watch solar alignment in Egypt temple

Tourists watch solar alignment in Egypt temple

ABU SIMBEL, Egypt (AP) — Hundreds of visitors gathered in Egypt on Wednesday at the Great Temple of Ramses II to watch the sun illuminate colossal statues, a rare 3,200-year-old astronomical ceremony that happens twice a year.

At dawn at Abu Simbel, local dignitaries and tourists patiently waited for the sun to send a beam of light into the ancient temple's dark inner chamber for over 10 minutes, lighting three of four enormous, 22-meter (72-feet) -high statues.

Thirty-two centuries ago, during the reign of Ramses II, the temple was precisely built to align with the sun twice a year, celebrating the pharaoh's birthday and coronation.

It is considered one of the most beautiful of Egypt's ancient monuments and it is well-known for its four colossal statues of Ramses II, the sun gods Re-Horakhte and Amon-Re, and the Theban god of darkness Ptah, the only one who is not lit by the solar alignment.

"The phenomenon attracts a lot of people who want to come and see it because it doesn't exist in any other country," said Moustafa Yousri, governor of the city of Aswan.

Six folklore groups from across Egypt entertained the crowd with regional varieties of traditional costumes, dances and songs.

Since being relocated in the 1960s to make way for the Aswan dam's reservoir, Lake Nasser, the day of the solar alignment is one day later in the year.