AME Info: AME Info

In line with the gradual recovery that the Egyptian tourism industry is witnessing, and the unique touristic position that the country holds, Egypt was chosen as the destination for hosting two prominent events in the travel industry.

In addition to holding the World Travel Awards Africa & Indian Ocean Ceremony 2011 in Sharm Al Shiekh on September 16, Egypt will also featuring the official UN World Tourism Day celebrations in Aswan. The festivities will be held under the slogan "Connecting Cultures".

Hosting these international events reflects the gradual growth that Egypt's tourism sector has been witnessing since February 2011. Figures indicate that the rate of tourists visiting Egypt has increased by 15.5% (2,240,843 tourists) in the second quarter of this year, compared with its first quarter (1,894,044 tourists).

Furthermore, a total of 1,842,842 tourists were recorded during the period from July to August; 907,257 of which were present in August alone. However, the highest number of tourists for this year was recorded during the month of January which amounted to 1,147,962, whereas February had the lowest rate at 210,971.

Despite the fact that statistics display a decrease in the number of tourists recorded during the first 8 months of 2011 by 36.6% (compared to the same period last year), there has been a noticeable recovery in the rates of decline, particularly from the month of March onwards. While decline rates were registered at 80.3% in February 2011, numbers for March and April of the same year show an improvement, with decline rates of 60% and 35.7% respectively. Rates for May, June, and July were determined at 40.8%, 28.9% and 28.2% in the same order. August presented the highest improvement rate at 20.6% decline.

Commenting on the recent recovery of the Egyptian tourism sector, the Chairman of Egyptian Tourist Authority, Amr El Ezabi, said, "In spite of the unrest that Egypt had witnessed in the past 8 months and the direct effect this had on the tourism industry; the fact that it was selected to host these two important international events reaffirms the unique and prominent touristic position that Egypt holds on a global scale. In addition to reflecting the gradual recovery that our tourism industry is undergoing, these events also highlight the important decisions implemented by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism, which have aided in this recovery."

He added, "Recent recorded figures reflect the success of the Ministry of Tourism & ETA in dealing with recent events, and in managing to reverse declining visitor rates. Not only did the ministry work on providing a clear representation of the current situation in Egypt through communicating with various media channels, it also facilitated entry for tourists and worked towards lifting bans set by some countries during the first days of the revolution."

Egypt remains to be the most distinct Arab touristic destinations, as it has received the largest share of tourists. One of the main reasons behind the country's popularity lies in the cooperation between both private and public sectors in implementing a number of initiatives by organizations and entities such as Egypt Air, the Ministry of Culture, the Giza governorate, Al Mawred institution and others. These collaborations were behind a number of successful events such as the "Fawanees Ramadan festival 2011" which was well received by tourists, and contributed in attracting further visitors.