 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 22 - 28 July 1999 Issue No. 439 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 22 - 28 July 1999 Issue No. 439
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Focus Interview Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters Shopping time
By Rehab SaadEgypt's Second Tourism and Shopping Festival, which runs from 20 July to 20 August, sees the participation of around 5,000 shops as well as 163 hotels and tourist resorts and 137 restaurants.
The festival, which is being held under the patronage of Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzouri, covers Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, the North Coast and the Red Sea Governorate.
Participating hotels, shops and restaurants are offering large discounts for visitors to Egypt and the national carrier, EgyptAir, is offering special ticket prices. Competitions will be held with prizes of luxury cars, domestic and electric appliances as well as trips to different parts of Egypt.
According to officials, the festival aims to promote Egyptian tourism as well as exports.
"For that reason, the festival will cover all the Egyptian governorates gradually in the coming years so that they can all benefit from it," said Minister of Tourism Mamdouh El-Beltagui.
Abdel-Moneim Seoudi, head of the executive committee of the festival and chairman of the Egyptian Federation of Industries, said that the initiative would highlight the pioneering role of Egypt in the Arab region. "These activities and services are performed by businessmen, organisations and institutions in a serious way for the sake of Egypt," he added.
The event is being sponsored by the ministries of tourism, trade, finance and information as well as the Egyptian Federation of Industries, the Egyptian Tourist Authority, Cairo International Conference Centre (CICC) and the General Organisation of Exhibitions.
"There are two main exhibitions that include nearly all products: one at the CICC and the other in the Fairgrounds in Nasr City. The rest are scattered all over the city," said Adel Abdel-Aziz, head of the Egyptian Tourism Authority.
He added that there is a 24-hour operation room in the CICC to handle queries or complaints. "There is also a special team at the airport to receive travellers and give them gifts and booklets giving them the details of the festival and how they can benefit from all the privileges on offer," he said.
"This is the first time we participate in the event. We were encouraged by our friends who participated last year and who had a wonderful experience. I believe that this year I will gain a lot of customers and will cover my expenses," said Magdi Dawood, an owner of a Chinese artifact shop who is exhibiting in the CICC.
Akram El-Leithi of Crystal Asfour is confident that this year will be more profitable than last year. "Last year we covered our expenses and we made profits but they were not as we expected, I think this year we will do better as the organisation is much better than last year's. I am optimistic," he said.
El-Leithi added that the event needs more advertising. "Some people do not know what it is and where it is," he said.
Abdel-Aziz stressed that there is a strong promotion campaign so that travellers are informed of everything before arriving. "The campaign includes programmes on Egyptian TV, both local and satellite channels, as well as Arab channels besides articles that are published in different Egyptian and Arab newspapers," he said.
Abdel-Aziz explained further that a promotion campaign has also been under way in the Arab market particularly in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. "There is also a campaign in the Russian market where a film about the festival is being shown on Russian TV to entice tourists," he said.
According to officials, not all shops are allowed to participate: only those offering quality products are taking part. Participating outlets have to honour advertised discounts.
"There are supervisors from the Ministry of Trade to watch prices. Moreover, shops that did not abide by the discounts in the festival last year or those whose products proved that they were not up to standard were excluded this year," Abdel-Aziz said.
In order to promote Alexandria, EgyptAir is offering a free return ticket from Alexandria for those using the Cairo-Alexandria service during the month of the festival.
On the fringes of the festival, 30 concerts are being held by Egyptian and Arab singers in Cairo, Giza and Alexandria, Abdel-Aziz said.
Hoteliers are confident that this year's festival will be successful but they also believe that the timing should be changed. "The timing of the festival coincides with the Arab tourist season and I do not think that shopping will be a motivation to them to come but it could be an added incentive," said Maha Saad, director of public relations for Sheraton Hotels in the Middle East.
Saad suggested that the festival should be held outside the high season. "It is a loss for us hoteliers to cut our prices by 50 per cent during such a high season," she added.
