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Al-Ahram Weekly 3 - 9 August 2000 Issue No. 493 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 3 - 9 August 2000 Issue No. 493
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Summer shopping
By Rehab SaadTravellers target destinations not only for their sights and sounds, but also to shop. Some Arab countries have attracted buyers from all over the world in the last few years after introducing shopping festivals with discounts on products, airline tickets, restaurants and hotel accommodation.
Dubai, which pioneered the project, lured Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to follow suit. Egypt launched its first tourism and shopping festival in the Cairo International Conference Centre (CICC) and on the Fair Grounds of Nasr City three years ago.
The first fair alone drove hotel occupancy rates up from three per cent to 66 per cent. The second round also proved successful with 357,000 tourists visiting Egypt at the time -- an increase of nearly 20 per cent over the previous year. Hotel occupancy rates peaked at 83 per cent -- that is, an increase of 13.5 per cent over the previous year.
This year, the fair is expected to furnish even better results. 2,823 shops -- 500 jewellery stores amongst them -- and 435 tourist establishments will participate. EgyptAir is offering special rebates.
Some 30 galas, featuring Arab singers and entertainers, will be held on the fringe of the festival. There will also be a video festival in Hurghada and a gold bonanza offering daily draws. Throughout the month, visitors can win cars, domestic appliances and trips to different parts of the country.
Despite efforts to turn the festival into a major annual event, Egyptians themselves, however, view the fair as simply another feature of the summer discount season. Critics complain that, by contrast, the event in Dubai has plunged the whole country into a state of celebration.
Egyptian officials, however, consider the comparison unfair. "We do not deny that Dubai's festival is a successful experience, but the two events are completely different," maintains Mohamed Osman, deputy chairman of the Higher Executive Committee of the festival. "Our festival is a 'tourism and shopping' fair, not limited to shopping only," he said, adding that "no other country can compete with our uniquely diversified tourism industry."
Moreover, 99 per cent of the goods sold in Dubai are imports, whereas the Egyptian fair offers mostly local products.
Nor are resources comparable. While Dubai's government has joined the private sector in advancing $150 million for the festival, Egypt's private sector has coughed up no more than $1 million in the absence of government funding.
Ashraf Kara, media coordinator of Art Line company and an organiser of the festival, also complained about the low participation of entrepreneurs. "Businessmen are not really convinced of the concept," agreed Ashraf Hussein, administrative manager of Al-Aqqad mall. Only 30 shops out of 180 in the mall have participated in the event.
Others have objected to the timing of the festival between 20 July to 20 August -- the peak of the Arab tourist season in Egypt. They argue that the festival should be held in the low season when Egypt could attract visitors with discounts. "I do not see why I should make a discount when occupancy rates are already 100 per cent" said a hotelier.
Since the first round of the festival, hotels and shops have urged the Ministry of Tourism to change the time of the event in vain.
"The most suitable timing is in the period from mid-September to mid-October," said Hussein of Al-Aqqad mall, adding "Arab visitors already come during the summer. We need to attract them during September and October."
Mamdouh El-Beltagui, the minister of tourism, however, believes that the timing is suitable for commercial activities. "We insist on that date because it is the most suitable time for trade," he said.
Osman agrees. "We want to wrest the industrial and commercial sectors from their current state of stagnation. They supported us when we were suffering from our tourist crisis. Now it is high time to support them in their crisis," Osman said.
Despite the odds, Osman believes that the festival has succeeded in creating a spirit of cooperation between the tourism industry and other industrial sectors. "Egyptian tourism is successfully marketing the Egyptian industries and vice versa."
