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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 January 2000 Issue No. 463 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 January 2000 Issue No. 463
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Heritage Millennium Features Profile Living Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters An eye on Egypt's travel trends
By Rehab SaadEgypt has long been an attractive destination for travellers for many reasons, not the least of which is its rich culture and historical treasures, combined with the winter sunshine and a warm healthy climate. And yet, suggests Elhamy El-Zayyat, head of the travel agencies chamber, even the considerable increase in visitors spurred by Thomas Cook's organised tours and Nile cruises in the 19th century was not enough to warrant labelling the influx a "tourist movement".
"It was only after the Industrial Revolution that people in the Western world came to know the meaning of the words 'weekend' and 'holiday', and began to take heed of how this vitally important leisure time could be spent. When the tourist movement emerged, it started as an exclusive pleasure for the upper classes. Then the growing upper-middle class began to travel, followed by the middle class. Finally, travelling has become an expectation for everyone," El-Zayyat said.
When tourism took-off as a major industry in the mid-20th century, it quickly snowballed. In 1950, the first statistics of what is known as "international tourism" were released, indicating that about 25 million tourist-visits to different countries around the world were recorded that year and that revenues were about $2.1 billion. By 1998, these figures had leaped up to 635 million visits, with revenues of $439 billion. A similar trend can be seen in Egypt. When tourist statistics started in 1954, the number of tourists coming to Egypt was in the thousands. Estimates for tourist visits in 1999 are in the area of five million.
"We are following the same rapid international trend," said Sayed Moussa, former head of the Egyptian Tourist Authority and an expert on the tourist industry. "This increase is due to the fact that the tourist movement around the world started as an attraction for the elite, but as time went by, it turned into a right for the majority."
Modern transportation has helped the development of the industry. Boeing 707s can bring up to 160 passengers at a go, where once a long sea journey was necessary, and more and more people have developed the urge to travel. "They want to see exotic countries, learn different cultures, and spend their leisure time in different environments," said El-Zayyat.
Tourism has been far from static. "It is constantly changing," observes El-Zayyat. "In the past, travellers would travel by boat and advertisements of destinations and great temples were placed in specialised magazines. Now everything has changed. Daily newspapers, radio, television, even the internet, advertise Egypt and the enormous diversity of the Egyptian product reaches a wider and wider audience.
Adventure travel including mountain climbing in Sinai and safaris in the Western Desert attracts a new kind of tourist
"Where once people would go to a single destination for their long annual holiday -- or, if possible, combine this with a visit to a neighbouring country -- there is now a tendency among a growing number of holiday-makers to divide their leisure time into three or even four holidays over the course of a year. This is, of course, beneficial to Egypt," El-Zayyat said.
This shift in the tourist industry has altered the way countries market themselves as a destination. Tourism today is not so much a competition between countries offering similar products, suggests Moussa, but rather "concerns the quality of service and a healthy environment. We must realise how important it is to pay attention to these facets, rather than concentrate on competitive prices.
"Tourism has witnessed a lot of changes as far as the quality of travellers is concerned and in the different trends of tourism offered," Moussa added. "At the beginning of the 20th century, we were a destination sought by foreign aristocracy. Now we have become a destination for backpackers."
Moussa explained that in addition to the expansion of Egypt's clientele, tourism has also evolved from a seasonal activity to one that is practised throughout the year. "[Egypt] was once a winter resort for foreigners. Now, after the development of marketing tools, and as a result of improved facilities, the country attracts people all year round." This past year, for example, Luxor registered an occupancy rate at the height of summer (July and August) that was surprisingly higher than that registered last January and February -- traditionally regarded as peak periods.
"One of the reasons for the change in the calibre of tourist occurred when the tourist sector faced some difficulties in the years of crises, at which time some of the tourist establishments drastically decreased their rates," said Moussa. "There was a war of prices. It was only natural that when the cost of hotel accommodation decreased from $100 to $8, Egypt should begin to attract budget travellers; those with little in their pockets and heavy bags on their backs."
Moussa says it is unfortunate that during these years Egyptians in the travel business accustomed themselves to serving such undemanding tourists and lost the technique of obliging the discriminating traveller.
El-Zayyat takes the distinction further. In the long history of tourism, he notes, Egypt had witnessed two kinds of tourists: what he calls "mature" and "immature". "Mature tourists are seasoned travellers who are ever on the lookout for a new experience. They tend to be independent; they like to travel as individuals. Europeans, especially, fall into this category," he said. "Immature tourists travel in groups. It is rare to find a Korean or Japanese travelling alone."
Both El-Zayyat and Moussa laid particular stress on the importance of services. "If there are nice buildings and exotic and interesting sites but inadequate services, there will be no tourism," El-Zayyat said. "In this business, we should ask ourselves whether sites are accessible, how people can be moved around from site to site in comfort, how well they can be served, and whether we have enough airports to shuttle them around and maintain the flow. If we can provide satisfactory answers to such questions, then business will increase proportionately and we will reach our goal," he said.
"Tourist requirements differ from age to age, their reasons for travel vary, their needs change. Customers have become more knowledgeable, more demanding and more decisive," Moussa agrees. "In the past, most travellers were interested in ancient history and wanted to go to the pyramids, Luxor or Aswan. Now, they are more decisive. Today you will find a tourist who will ask to spend three days in Luxor to visit specific sites, the tomb of Seti I in the Valley of the Kings, for example," Moussa said. "This type of traveller is well informed and should be served by Egyptians who are even more knowledgeable than he. It is vitally important to make a distinction between travellers of this calibre and the average tourist -- and this is where we fall short."
The tourist industry has been subject to shifts in interests and facilities and it has developed alongside these shifts. Likewise, tourism has also been affected by major world events.
"The Gulf War was a major crisis for the industry -- possibly the greatest," El-Zayyat noted. "Even after our defeat in the 1967 War, there was not such a major drop in tourists. Indeed, even in 1973, after the October War, tourism dropped-off for only four months and then quickly picked up again."
The Gulf War was different, suggested El-Zayyat, because of all the television coverage. "People followed events on their screens in their own homes; CNN brought the drama and the tragedy much closer. Nobody wanted to arrange a holiday to such a trouble spot."
El-Zayyat remarked that deserts are being promoted as a new product today, but surprisingly few people realise that adventure travel is not new at all. "It started a long time ago. In the 1970s, there were quite a large number of special-interest groups coming to Egypt to trek and camp in the desert. Many wanted to visit remote places, like Saint Catherine's Monastery in Sinai," he said.
"In the 1980s, Egyptians became aware of the enormous potential of the country's extensive shores along the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. Investors were interested when they became aware that if resorts were developed in these areas, they could be used all year round; tourism need not necessarily remain a seasonal activity. They started to build hotels and tourist resorts and this resulted in such a heavy movement that it became necessary to build new airports and improve roads."
"Let us not forget," El-Zayyat went on, "that the 1980s was when Egypt received assistance to build the Cairo International Conference Centre (CICC), so conference tourism could be added to our list of attractions. Then, in the 1990s, Egypt began to once more be promoted as a destination with a healthy climate and the term 'curative tourism' appeared. Health resorts have been built in Aswan and at Safaga on the Red Sea."
The tourist sector in Egypt at one time suffered from a meagre budget, which affected the type of tourist who values comfort as well as the travelling experience. Moussa recalled that when he was the head of the Egyptian Tourist Authority and responsible for marketing Egypt as a tourist destination, he was allocated a budget of $3.5 million for seven years. "With that kind of budget I had two options: either to promote Egypt to the individual traveller or to promote it on the level of the tour operator and travel agency. I chose the latter.
"Now," he added, "with the government allocating $42 million, promotion is possible directly to potential travellers in bulk. We have funds available for audio-visual promotion and magazine advertising, etc. With Egypt able to get directly in contact with the client, a greater influx of tourists of all types naturally results."
Moussa admitted that he did not know where Egypt should be placed on the world tourist map today. "We are in a transitional phase," he said. "Egypt has a wide range of tourist attractions, diverse facilities and deluxe establishments. We have everything to make it a top destination. With proper promotion we should be able to reach our goal."
