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Al-Ahram Weekly 24 Feb. - 1 March 2000 Issue No. 470 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 24 Feb. - 1 March 2000 Issue No. 470
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Focus Heritage Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters A fair fit for a Pharaoh
By Rehab Saad
On 1 March, 2000, Egypt will stage the first round of the Mediterranean Travel Fair (MTF), organised by Reed Travel Exhibitions, an international company that organises 340 travel fairs around the globe annually. The fair will run for three days at the Cairo International Conference Centre and is expected to be the largest travel fair ever held in Egypt.
With participation from countries around the Mediterranean, the event is sure to attract and appeal to exhibitors and visitors from around the world.
According to Reed, Cairo is the natural choice for the event as it is a hub for many international airlines, offers quality hotels and has an excellent purpose-built exhibition venue.
Matt Thompson, an exhibition director based in Cairo, explained that there are many reasons why Egypt is the most suitable place for such an event. "The strength of the Egyptian market is one of these [reasons]. Egypt counted 3.5 million tourists last year and studies indicate a substantial growth in the coming years. Egypt also represented one quarter of total arrivals in the Middle East in 1997 and 45 per cent of receipts," he said.
So far, 130 booths representing 27 countries have been booked, by, among others, Bahrain, China, Cyprus, Greece, Spain, Hong Kong, India, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Russia, Switzerland and Tunisia. Participants also include travel agencies from the Czech Republic, Lebanon, Israel, Italy, Malta, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Spain, USA and United Arab Emirates. This is in addition to international airlines, car rental agencies, tour operators, cruise ship operators, information technology companies for tourist and hotel bookings, international tourist resorts and international travel magazines, according to Amir Fahim, Reed's representative in Egypt.
He added that in order to guarantee the success of the event, "we have invited 1,400 international buyers from 87 countries to visit the MTF. Most of the invitees are from the United States, Britain, Germany, Greece, India, Saudi Arabia, Italy and Turkey, besides 10 of the major tour operators who export tourism to Egypt. To ensure comprehensive coverage of the event, we have invited about 200 journalists who represent most of the respected travel magazines in the world."
There will be a two-day seminar to discuss a number of important tourist issues. The first will be held by the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) for the Egyptian travel agencies participating in the organisation. The discussion will centre on the marketing methods employed in the US travel market. The second seminar, organised by the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), will deal with technological development, globalisation and the Internet, reviewing their effect on the industry.
As Fahim says, it is about time that Egypt thought seriously of hosting its own travel fair, one to match its international tourist status. According to Ahmed El-Maghrabi, head of the Tourist Chambers Federation, one of the most important demands of the Egyptian tourist sector is to have its own international travel fair. "Egypt made a big effort to attract a company with the reputation of Reed to organise its fair. It is very important to get buyers and sellers to come to Egypt and see its potential. The results of such an exhibition will not be clear for the next two years, but Egypt will establish itself as a strong travel market after that," El-Maghrabi told the Weekly.
However, this is not Egypt's first attempt to host a travel fair. In the early 1990s, Ahmed Hafez, an Egyptian organiser, arranged the International Arab Travel Market (IATM), under the umbrella of the Ministry of Tourism and the Egyptian Tourist Authority (ETA), in order to promote tourism in the Arab world. After a successful first year, the standard deteriorated, the number of exhibitors fell and visitors decreased. After Hafez's death, the event fizzled out.
"The IATM lacked international experience and there was no invitation to international buyers to visit the country to get acquainted with its facilities. This time, we have the experience of Reed Travel Exhibitions who have organised such famous events as the World Travel Market in London, the Arabian Market in Dubai, the PATA Travel Mart in Singapore and the International Golf Travel Market in Portugal," El-Maghrabi said.
According to a report issued by Reed, the decision to hold the event in this region was the result of detailed studies. The report says: "The rate of growth of both inbound and outbound markets within the region is impressive. As an inbound market, the region offers a wealth of tourism products, covering ancient monuments, sites of religious interest, superb sports facilities and wonderful scenery. Egypt alone benefits from over 26 million tourist room nights annually, whilst in Jordan tourist arrivals increased by nearly 40 per cent between 1994 and 1998 and continue to grow. In addition to the well-known strength of the region's inbound market, the outbound market is also considerable."
"This region presents tremendous opportunities for the international travel industry. The importance of a major business forum to serve the market cannot be understated," said Reed's managing director, Tom Nutley. He added that with the full support of the Egyptian government and tourist authorities, combined with Reed's expertise, he was "confident that the MTF would become a key annual event on the industry's calendar."
Egypt is now pulling out all the stops to guarantee the event's success. The Egyptian Hotel Association (EHA) and the Egyptian Travel Agents Association (ETAA), in partnership with Reed, are offering a full range of services for the event. The EHA is offering 2,500 free tourist nights for international buyers and the ETAA is providing an airport welcome service, complimentary transfers and offering pre- and post-show familiarisation trips to selected international delegates. EgyptAir will grant attending tour operators and travel agents a 75 per cent discount and other MTF participants a 50 per cent discount.
Participants, travel agents and hoteliers are confident that the event will be good for business. Worldspan, a global distribution system, will use the MTF to display its new products. It will be exhibiting the state-of-the-art Internet products that have driven its phenomenal growth in the Middle East and its new range of Internet business travel products, due to be introduced to the region in the year 2000. "Attendees at the show will be able to talk to Worldspan representatives to discover how Worldspan's advanced technology can give them a competitive edge," said Mohamed El-Sokkary of Worldspan Egypt.
The Jordan Tourism Board, having reserved 47.5 square metres at the fair, is confident that it will be able to promote Jordan to the international market and increase awareness of its recently launched global marketing drive focused on activities for the year 2000. And the other exhibitors are also highly enthusiastic about the chance to display and promote their products at the event.
But, according to Reed, the MTF is much more than a three-day travel exhibition. Not only will the event include a seminar programme, but also a number of exciting functions. On 1 March, a gala dinner hosted by Minister of Tourism Mamdouh El-Beltagui will be held at the Mena House hotel. About 1,000 exhibitors, buyers and journalists, in addition to prominent members of the tourism industry worldwide, have been invited.
"I believe that this major event will be successful. We have already attracted 27 countries and 1,400 buyers. Moreover, 4,000 square metres have already been booked. Other major international events, such as the International Travel Bourse [held in Germany], started with only six countries," Reed's Fahim concluded.
