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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 February 2000 Issue No. 469 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 February 2000 Issue No. 469
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Travel web
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http://www.cicc.egnet.netThe Cairo International Conference Centre (CICC) wants the world to know that Egypt is the "perfect destination for conferences, festivals and expositions". To this end, the centre's "Egyconfex Website" has employed a few nifty -- though slow-loading -- graphics on the all-powerful Web to draw the international clientele presumably unaware of Egypt's potential in this arena. Built with the event-organiser and convention planner in mind, questions about arranging an exhibition or a conference in Egypt are pretty much all answered here.
Aside from crucial information about CICC (reached through a link to the CICC homepage), the Egyconfex homepage offers 10 other links ranging from transportation to hotel facilities, as well as a link to the Ministry of Tourism's website about the Holy Family's flight through Egypt (although how this is related to conferences and international conventions, it is not quite clear -- one must assume that businessmen and delegates the world over will be swayed into holding their meetings along the shores of Southern Sanai on the persuasive argument that Jesus, Mary and Joseph trooped across the peninsula).
The CICC link offers ample information on the facilities that Egypt has developed to make it a premier destination for any organisation's coming event. One has access to the different halls available at CICC, along with data like size, equipment and capacities -- you can reserve space for a conference by filling out a online form. A calendar of events since the opening of the CICC in 1989 is included, along with future plans.
The International Fair section includes facilities available through the General Organisation for International Exhibitions and Fairs, in Nasr City. Conference facilities provided by hotels in cities like Cairo, Alexandria, Aswan, Luxor, Hurghada, Sharm El-Sheikh and Taba are to be found in the Hotel Facilities section.
The Convention Centres section offers a city-by-city list of conference centres throughout the world, along with all the relevant contact information. The most important players in the industry, like the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), Meeting Professional International (MPI) and the International Association for Exposition Management (IAEM), are all found through the International Conventions link. For companies that have organised events at CICC, go to the Event Organizers section.
For getting here and around, CICC's transportation link is very helpful, providing access to all airlines operating in Egypt, and offering information on travel agencies and Nile cruises. Worth a look is CICC's "Virtual Magazine", a precursor to an anticipated print magazine, with news and information on CICC activities and, my favourite, a piece on the "Meeting Industry in the Pharaonic Ages". The material is interesting, but badly in need of some editing and spelling corrections.
Comprehensive and informative, CICC's Egyconfex site is practical and certainly a useful stop on the virtual booking circuit. Most people seeking this site are not browsing for joy of aesthetics or poetic verse -- they want facts, dates and reservations. In this, CICC delivers.
Reviewed by Rehab Saad
