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Al-Ahram Weekly 8 - 14 April 1999 Issue No. 424 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 8 - 14 April 1999 Issue No. 424
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Profile Features Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Japanese tourists
By Rehab Saad
returning slowlyIt only started in the 1980's, but within a few years the Japanese tourism market proved to be one of the fastest growing in the world. And there is still more potential for growth. With both Europe and the USA vying for tourists, competition has been hot and, in Egypt, Japanese tourism has become the focus of a major marketing push.
Japan's exposure to other cultures has been slow. However, in 1972 Egyptian travel agencies concentrated on the large number of Japanese tourists travelling to Europe and began to think of ways of attracting them to Egypt.
"In 1984, we organised an Egyptian exhibition in Japan called 'Golden Pharaoh' which toured seven Japanese cities," said Baheeg El-Gohary, president of Bahi tours, a travel agency that brings the bulk of Japanese tourists to Egypt. "After that tourists started to come to Egypt in increasing numbers."
El-Gohary added that in 1986, a 'Japanese week' was organised in Egypt in collaboration with the Japanese Embassy "and for the first time Japanese travellers were keen to include Egypt in their holiday or travel itineraries," he said.
It is interesting to note that Japanese tourists tend to take shorter stays in Egypt than most visitors, but they actually spend more money during that time. They are also described as the most disciplined and punctual of all tourists.
"Because the Japanese have limited holidays, they plan trips three or four years in advance. They fly for 23 hours to get to Egypt and when they arrive they expect to find everything in order and well planned," said El-Gohary.
About 80 per cent of Japanese tourists like to visit Cairo, Luxor and Aswan. Ten per cent prefer to combine their trips to Egypt with Greece and Turkey. Five per cent come to Cairo, visit Sinai and then travel on to Israel. And five per cent choose the Red Sea or oases like Bahariya and Siwa in the Western Desert.
Some 80 per cent of Japanese tourists visit the ancient sites in Egypt
photo: Sherif Sonbol
Unfortunately, after the terrorist massacre of tourists in Luxor in November 1997 which left 62 people -- including Japanese -- dead, the numbers of tourists dropped drastically.
Moreover, a travel advisory was issued by Japan banning its citizens from coming to Egypt. Only last December when the tone of the ban was softened did Japanese citizens start returning to Egypt, but to selected destinations.
This last stance was interpreted by Egyptian tourism officials as a positive step towards restoring the important Japanese market. "The situation is stable and the security measures adopted have resulted in the tourist movement to Egypt being revived from various international markets," said Dr Mamdouh El-Beltagui, the minister of tourism.
However, Egyptian travel agents dealing specifically with the Japanese market regard such statements as too optimistic.
"It is as if we are starting from scratch, as if Japan is a new market. We have to work to full capacity to rebuild it," said Abu Bakr El-Shorbagi, head of 3A Tours, a travel agency that deals largely with the Japanese market.
El-Shorbagi explained that his agency had dealt with 1,000 Japanese travellers each year, "but last year we got only 20. I will try to remedy the situation when I participate in the tourist fair of Japan [JATA] which is held biannually in Tokyo. Here I can meet people and hopefully convince them of the safety of our country."
"Although the ban is 'softened', this does not mean that Japanese travellers will come immediately," El-Gohary added. "We must promote Egypt extensively, prepare new programmes and fix prices."
To this end an advertising campaign was launched by the Egyptian Tourist Authority (ETA) in Japan. "There will be a media campaign in the most important Japanese newspapers and magazines," said Adel Abdel-Aziz, head of the ETA. "This month we invited a Japanese TV delegation to shoot a film about Egypt. This will be shown throughout Japan and Southeast Asian countries."
Perhaps one of the most serious problems facing active tourism between Egypt and Japan is air transport. The number of flights between the two countries is simply not enough.
In a recent meeting between Dr El-Beltagui and the Japanese minister of transportation and civil aviation, the possibility of resuming the Tokyo-Cairo route for Japanese Airlines (JAL) was discussed, as well as ways of encouraging EgyptAir to increase the number of its flights from Cairo to Tokyo.
see also: Cherries and chrysanthemums
