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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 April - 3 May 2000 Issue No. 479 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 April - 3 May 2000 Issue No. 479
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Special Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Chasing the elusive return
By Shaimaa Labib
Last week's one-day seminar, "Tourism with France," pinpointed problems the Egyptian tourism sector must overcome if it is to compete with its counterparts in other countries.
Although the construction of hotels and restaurants has increased, the services they are likely to offer are not always on a par with international standards, a problem compounded by the shortage of skilled and trained personnel. Low levels of service was cited by many participants as one of the reason why Egypt attracts so few return tourists.
Participants at the meeting, which was organised by the European Commission-funded European Information Correspondence Centre, (EICC), in cooperation with the French Embassy in Cairo, agreed that the Egyptian tourism industry, though it has made steady progress in recent years, still faces "tremendous challenges" compared to its European counterpart.
"It is essential (for Egypt) to invest in the training and development of human resource skills in the tourism field in order to attract more tourists to the country," insists Marianick Urvoy, a senior official at AFPA, the French National Association for Adult Vocational Training.
Urvoy believes there should be more emphasis on state-funded institutions for personnel training in Egypt, citing the success of the 16 hotel schools and training institutions that have been established in France for this purpose.
"We, at AFPA, involve the state in financing this kind of training given that many hotel managers are reluctant to finance it due to their fear of their employees' being poached by their competitors. The Egyptian government is clearly not investing enough in training these personnel," Urvoy said.
The French government has imposed a 1.1 per cent tax on the sector's payroll to fund this kind of training. "Now, having seen how profitable this kind of training is for their businesses, French companies are now paying 3.5 per cent of their payroll to further enhance this kind of training," Urvoy added.
Since 1998, AFPA has been involved in upgrading and establishing training centers in different economic sectors in Egypt, said Urvoy.
The Ismailiya Training Centre, established under the supervision of ACCOR, the French hotel group, provides "on the job" training in collaboration with the Social Fund for Development (SFD) and AFPA. This project, which is 75 per cent funded by the SFD and 25 per cent funded by ACCOR, is intended to provide those working in the tourism field with a basic knowledge of tourism.
"The project involves 24 months training in the centre, eight months operational training in a contracted hotel and then the awarding of a certificate to the graduates," Urvoy said.
After graduation, trainees are expected to repay part of the training cost over a three year period.
Since 1996 France has provided a FF40 million grant to Egypt to develop human resources in different trades. The grant is managed through the embassy in collaboration with different governorates.
During the seminar, Emmanuel Rault, from Thermes Marins De Saint Malo, a French company specialised in establishing therapy centres around the world, announced that his company intends to establish a Thalassotherapy centre on the Red Sea.
"Such therapy-based holidays are one way to attract new customers to Egypt and increase occupancy rates in hotels. We expect that this kind of therapy would be a success in Egypt since the country is blessed with a suitable climate, sea water and the availability of five-star hotels," according to Rault. Two months ago, the company started construction of the LE15 million therapy centre, which is expected to open within 14 months.
Participants in the seminar agreed that it is necessary to institute a framework capable of providing those working in the field with reliable information on both the French and Egyptian markets, and to provide networking opportunities for those seeking partners.
The Egyptian-French business association plays an important role in this respect: "We provide legal and business information concerning investment opportunities in both countries to our Egyptian and French members to help them form business partners," said Atef Mukhtar, director general of Club d'Affaires Franco Egyptian (CAFE).
Founded in 1992 to develop Egyptian-French bilateral trade relations, 70 per cent of CAFE's members are Egyptian businessmen.
"Last year we organised a mission to France, providing 150 businessmen, with an opportunity to meet their French counterparts and get acquainted with the business opportunities available in the French market. We also recruit local bilingual personnel seeking employment opportunities in Egyptian as well as French companies," Mukhtar said.
