The Land of Pyramids woos globe-trotting Indian tourists

The Land of Pyramids woos globe-trotting Indian tourists

Vegetarian food, attractive holiday packages and, above all, advertising the country through Bollywood and regional cinema are all part of an elaborate game plan chalked out by Egypt’s tourism ministry, recovering from declining footfalls due to political unrest of the last few years, to woo the globe-trotting Indian traveler to the Land of Pyramids.

Ismail Hamid, the Egyptian Tourism Counsellor to India, said the country was reviving from the slowdown in tourist arrivals following the 2011 revolution that saw the toppling of two governments in three years.

According to Hamid, tourist footfalls fell from 14.7 million in 2010 to around 10 million in 2014 – a drop of about 32 percent – while Indian footfalls declined by a whopping 48 percent in the same period, largely due to perceptions that Egypt has become unsafe due to chronic political violence brought about by the Arab Spring and its chaotic aftermath with hundreds of deaths and then the transition to a military-led government after a failed experiment with democratic rule.

Egypt’s tourism ministry has set itself to increase the figure in the next couple of years to lure the ever-increasing number of Indians travelling abroad, courtesy the rise in their disposable incomes due to a growing economy and who are being pursued by tourist authorities from around the world.

“We believe that India could be a very promising market for us. Though the percentage of Indian travellers to Egypt is low, the numbers are growing thanks to the interest of Indians to travel abroad and the country’s emerging economy,” said Hamid, who is based in India’s financial capital.

“India is a good market for Egypt,” he added.

Asked whether tourists, especially Indians, would be willing to allay their fears and holiday in Egypt, Hamid said global events like the International Development Economic Conference held in March in Sharm-El-Shaikh as well as the India By the Nile Festival organised in Cairo will boost Egypt’s image as a “safe destination”.

“I believe that positive news about Egypt will promote it as a safe destination and attract tourists,” he said.

Value-for-money holiday packages, direct flights, vegetarian food and Indian movies are some of the many factors that will be pivotal to the ministry’s plan.

“We are planning to widen the network of direct flights from different cities of India to all major tourist destinations of Egypt as well as actively advertise here about adventure tourism destinations like the Red Sea in Hurghada, Sharm-El-Sheikh, Sahl Hasheesh and Marsa Alam which are famous for diving, water sports, and safaris,” Hamid said.

Noting that Indians are quite picky about their food and choose destinations accordingly, Hamid said Egyptian dishes and their preparation were quite similar to India’s.

“Egyptians love Indian food as it is very similar in taste to ours. There are numerous Egyptian restaurants all over Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor or Hurghada that have restaurants serving pure vegetarian food.”

In addition, Hamid said, the number of existing Indian restaurants at all popular tourist destinations were increasing and will continue to increase along with the arrival of more Indian travellers.

However, it’s the love for films that is common to both Egypt and India, felt Hamid, who has an elaborate strategy in place to reach out to the masses through Hindi and regional cinema by promoting Egypt as a location to shoot more Indian films.

Bollywood blockbusters like Amitabh Bachchan- starrer “The Great Gambler” or “Singh is Kinng”, “Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham” and “Maine Dil Tujhko Diya”, among others, were partly shot in Egypt.

“Our plans are not only for Bollywood but also for Tollywood, Chitrapat (Marathi) and other regional cinema. Egypt is aware of the importance of the film industry for the culture and tourism sectors.

The third edition of the “India by the Nile festival” inaugurated by Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan was also a step in this direction.

http://www.eturbonews.com/57837/land-pyramids-woos-globe-trotting-indian-tourists

Egypt safe, tourism rebounding, Egyptian archeologist Hawass says

Zahi Hawass 

KRUGERSDORP, South Africa — Egypt’s best-known archeologist is a passionate showman with an explorer’s fedora who joined the last, doomed cabinet of President Hosni Mubarak, then resigned in a swirl of corruption allegations after the 2011 revolution ousted his patron. Admired or reviled, he is once again a frontman for Egypt, exhorting international audiences to see the heritage of a country where unrest has hit tourism hard.

“Egypt is safe,” Zahi Hawass declared recently at a South African casino complex where schoolchildren roamed an exhibition of replicas of King Tutankhamun’s treasures. Egyptian hotels and antiquities sites are secure, said Hawass.

Tourism is resurfacing, but it is a hard sell. The uprising that toppled Mubarak, the 2013 military ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, and sporadic violence have slammed the key Egyptian industry.

The Egyptian Museum, home to King Tut’s gold mask, lies near Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the 2011 protests. Hawass was then antiquities minister, assuring journalists that Egypt’s heritage was mostly intact despite some looting and damage. A stalwart of the old regime, he soon left his post and was besieged by allegations that he abused his position for personal gain.

“The devils came out of the sewage. They hurt me a lot,” Hawass said of his detractors in an interview with The Associated Press. He said it took two years to clear his name.

In his heyday, 67-year-old Hawass was a domineering charlatan to some and, to others, an animated Egyptologist whose antics and ebullience enlivened the staid world of archaeology for a global audience. He once starred in a TV show about his exploits and still wears a wide-brimmed hat, Indiana Jones style, to desert digs.

Now on the lecture circuit, the silver-haired archeologist recently told enthralled children he was a “mummy hunter” and gave two rollicking lectures at Silverstar Casino in Krugersdorp, near Johannesburg.

“When you discover a mummy, the media will run after you,” Hawass said to laughter while displaying an image of him inspecting a sarcophagus, surrounded by cameras.

In the AP interview, Hawass questioned the Egyptian Museum’s recent use of epoxy, which can be hard to remove, to glue back a blue and gold braided beard that had been detached from Tutankhamun’s burial mask. The beard was accidentally knocked off last August during work on the relic’s lighting, according to a German expert summoned to Cairo to examine it.

A thin piece of wood can be inserted into a hole in the beard and used to connect the mask parts without the need for other “material,” Hawass said. He added that he “called the people in Egypt” and urged them to inform the public about the case.

Few dispute that Hawass can be a grandstander with a pyramid-sized ego, but many scholarly peers respect what he has done for Egyptian archaeology, which is severely underfunded and under threat from illegal excavations by looters.

Hawass’ resignation as antiquities minister made no difference to his productivity as an archeologist, and he now has time to publish his findings, said Salima Ikram, professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo. As to whether Hawass can return to his old job, Ikram said: “One never knows.”

Dr. Robert Littman, a trustee of the Archaeological Institute of America, said Hawass popularized Egyptian antiquities and helped give Egyptians a sense of pride in their past.

“He was able to raise money to help get the new museum built out at Giza,” Littman said.

The Grand Egyptian Museum, under construction near the Giza pyramids, is scheduled to open in 2018 and will eventually house the treasures of King Tut’s tomb. The foundation stone was laid in 2002.

Hawass’ career reflects Egypt’s shifting political fortunes. He harshly criticized the Muslim Brotherhood, the target of a crackdown after Morsi’s overthrow, and praised President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, the former military chief elected last year.

“Egypt always needs a military man, since 4,000 years ago,” Hawass said. “An army leader is needed now to bring stability to the streets of Egypt.”

The archeologist said dismissively that his successors in government have done “nothing” for the national heritage since his departure. “You can’t hide me,” Hawass said. “I put Egypt at the top of the whole world.”

http://thechronicleherald.ca/travel/1281235-egypt-safe-tourism-rebounding-egyptian-archeologist-hawass-says

Visa Launch Campaign to Promote Tourism in Egypt

The Egyptian Tourism Authority has partnered with Visa , a global payments technology company, to launch a promotional campaign on social media to help boost tourism in Egypt. Targeting both domestic and international tourists, the campaign will include an online video competition, "Myeverywhere", for the best fan generated footage of Cairo and Luxor.

The Egyptian Tourism Authority and Visa will promote "Myeverywhere" on Visa 's Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages, inviting fans to enter the competition by uploading their own videos of Cairo and Luxor. Every week for five weeks, one lucky winner will receive a Visa prepaid card worth $400 and a paid trip to one Egypt's favorite destinations.

The new campaign is part of a series of joint promotional activities outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Tourism and Visa to help boost domestic and inbound tourism. The first initiative, the "Rediscover Egypt" campaign, was launched in May 2014 and involved an online photo competition with the objective of repositioning Egypt as one of few destinations that entertain diverse interests ranging from cultural, to resort and historical attractions. The competition attracted 3,500 photo submissions that generated 43,000 likes, and reached almost 7,500,000 Facebook users and 500,000 Twitter users.

Visa and the Egyptian Tourism Authority aim to enrich online content highlighting Egypt as one of the distinguished tourist destinations around the world."Given the current state of the online ecosystem, the internet can potentially improve the image of the country through user-generated content on social media platforms and online media campaigns. It allows users to upload content on various social media platforms that can be seen by millions of people who can interact with such content," said Tarek Mahfouz, Visa Egypt Country Manager.

"Historically, Visa has been a strong supporter for tourism development in Egypt through multiple programs, and today 'Destination Egypt' needs a collective effort to represent the richness and diversity of the country as a travel and leisure destination. There are no powerful tools to launch such initiative equivalent to social media - a tool that basically empowers travelers to reflect and impacts the minds and hearts of fellow travelers aspiring to visit this rich destination," Tarek Mahfouz added.

Based on a research published by the Boston Consulting Group in 2013, travelers from the UK and Germany accounted for 9% and 8% respectively of tourists to Egypt - two countries where online tourism has become a natural habit. Additionally, in 2011, 57% of travelers from the UK and 51% from Germany purchased their tourism services online. As for Egypt, reservations and sales via the internet increased from 5% to 8%, while just 0.2% of Egypt's retail market is online. This showcases the huge untapped opportunities, for small and medium enterprises, especially in the fields of tourism and handcrafts, to grow online.

Learn More: www.visamiddleeast.com/myeverywhere