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Egypt to sponsor visitor registration at WTM London 2019

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Egypt Tourism Authority has been confirmed as the sponsor for visitor registration at this year’s WTM London – the leading global event for the travel industry.

The partnership comes just days after the British government lifted the flight restriction to the North African country’s resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh. The removal of the guidelines from the UK will mean there will be a huge push for tourism to Egypt from Britain.

The Egyptian Minister of Tourism Dr. Rania Al-Mashat commended the declaration of the end of the ban saying, “We welcome the return of British tourists to Sharm el-Sheikh. This announcement is a renewal of the ongoing cooperation between both nations.

“This step is a testament to the continuous efforts exerted by the Egyptian government to ensure the safety and security of every visitor in all Egypt’s destinations, and in South Sinai in Particular.”

Egypt has significantly invested in safety and security measures including CCTV, airport security, GPS on tour busses and continually reviews and enhances these security steps.

As part of Egypt’s tourism initiative for 2020, Sphinx airport will charter flights to West Cairo to facilitate passengers’ journey to the new Grand Egyptian Museum and the ancient Pyramids. The Grand Egyptian Museum will officially open its doors in late 2020. It’s not only set to be the biggest museum in the world, but will exclusively host only ancient Egyptian pieces and will be the final resting place for Tutankhamun, Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh exhibition.

The Tutankhamun exhibition is currently held at London’s Saatchi Gallery and will be opening this Saturday (2 November) and will be in residence until Sunday 3 May 2020.  The exhibition celebrates the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb and opens on the second day of the London Travel Week.

The partnership is announced one week until WTM London opens its doors to almost 55,000 visitors, the highest calibre buyers and almost 3,000 media.

WTM London, Senior Director, Simon Press said: “We are delighted to have Egypt come on board as our visitor registration partner for WTM London. It’s been a hard few years for inbound tourism from the UK to this beautiful and culturally rich country. At WTM London, we are looking forward to working with Egypt and facilitating the business and idea creation to ensure this  can make up for the lost in tourism numbers.”

Register for WTM London now to avoid paying on arrival at london.wtm.com

About World Travel Market

World Travel Market (WTM) portfolio comprises eight leading B2B events across four continents, generating more than $7 billion of industry deals. The events are:

WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. About 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL London every November, generating about £3.4 billion in travel industry contracts.

Next event: Monday 4 – Wednesday 6 November 2019 – London #IdeasArriveHere

About Reed Exhibitions

Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events business, enhancing the power of face-to-face through data and digital tools at more than 500 events a year, in more than 43 countries, attracting more than seven million participants. Reed’s events are held in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa and organised by 41 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions serves 43 industry sectors with trade and consumer events. It is part of RELX Group plc, a world-leading provider of information solutions for professional customers across industries.

About Reed Travel Exhibitions

Reed Travel Exhibitions is the world’s leading travel and tourism event’s organiser with a growing portfolio of more than 22 international travel and tourism trade events in Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Our events are market leaders in their sectors, whether they are global and regional leisure travel trade events, or specialist events for meetings, incentives, conference, events (MICE) industry, business travel, luxury travel, travel technology as well as golf, spa and ski travel. We have more than 35 years’ experience in organising world-leading travel exhibitions.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Julia Newbound – WTM Portfolio Press & PR Lead

E: julia.newbound@reedexpo.co.uk

T: +44 (0)20 8910 7056 / M: +44 (0)7775 036 858

Nicole Smart – WTM Portfolio PR & Events Consultant

E: nicole.smart@reedexpo.co.uk

T: +44 (0)20 8910 7032/ M: +44 (0)79 1955 5510

Hisham Zaazou now part of African Tourism Board: Egypt connection

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The African Tourism Board (ATB) announced today that Mr. Hisham Zaazou has joined its Pan-African organization and will serve as an honorary board member.

Mr. Zaazou was the Minister of Egypt until he resigned in 2016 to become the special adviser for the then UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary-General Dr. Taleb Rifai.

With Zaazou joining the African Tourism Board, he is now sharing the board with Dr. Taleb Rifai who has since been appointed patron of the UNWTO organization. He assumed this special advisor position in October 2017.

ATB Chairman Cuthbert Ncube said: “We’re welcoming Mr. Zaazou as a new board member of the African Tourism Board. Hisham Zaazou as the long-serving Minister of Tourism for Egypt adds an important focus to our organization and underlines the importance Egypt plays in the African Travel and Tourism industry.”

Zaazou has never been shy to solve issues with a hands-on approach. Following a fatal attack on the Sinai Peninsula in August 2012 in which 16 Egyptian soldiers were killed by armed men who subsequently infiltrated into Israel and were killed by the Israel Air Force, Zaazou denied that there was a negative impact on tourism following the attack. He said that tourism agencies did not cancel reservations and that he was personally calling them to make sure this was the case. Zaazou stressed that tourists should feel secure in Egypt.

After his departure from public office in 2016, Zaazou returned to the private sector as a consultant working with a number of prestigious international and local organizations. The International Public Relations Associations (IPRA) – Paris named him Man of the Year in 2013.

In addition to a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting degree from the University of Ain Shams in Cairo, Zaazou earned a specialized Certificate in PPP (Public Private Partnership) from Harvard Kennedy Business School, and an MBA & Ph.D. from the international business school of IBRA, Delaware, USA.

Zaazou, who attended many seminars and workshops both locally, regionally, and internationally in the field of tourism was the first Egyptian travel pioneer that specialized in Green Tourism projects and the first to head the Green Tourism Unit at the Ministry of Tourism as well as green-related projects. He was the Ministry of Tourism representative for the mobilization of the Dahshour World Heritage site for a community development project – a model for development of cultural and natural dimension with a social perspective in partnership with UN agencies (lead by UNDP – United Nations Development Program). He was also the Head of the Supreme Committee for transforming Sharm El Sheikh into a green city.

Zaazou has served on the boards of various prestigious associations including the Egyptian Tourism Federation, Egyptian Tourism Authority, Tourism Development Authority, and the Arab Tourism Organization in addition to being a member of the UNWTO as Vice Chairman of the Business Council. He was chosen to be the supervisor of the Arab tourism strategy by the Council of Arab Ministers of Tourism in 2014 among other endeavors.

Founded in 2018, the African Tourism Board is an association that is internationally acclaimed for acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from, and within the African region. For more information and how to join, visit africantourismboard.com.

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African Tourism Board CEO flies home with South African terror victims on Egypt Air

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African Tourism Board CEO Doris Worfel from Pretoria experienced a first-hand account on today’s terror attack targeting a tour bus with South African visitors on their way to see the Pyramids. All victims survived after a bomb went off injuring many passengers on  the bus operated by Egyptian tour company  Dominant Travel 

Doris Woerfel, CEO of the African Tourism Board left Cairo for Johannesburg on Egypt Air flight MS 839 Sunday night and was able to get to know some of the victims of the attack.

Doris told eTurboNews: “We departed about one hour late because some of the passengers were unable to get on the flight due to their injuries. Egypt Air had to unload their bags before the plane was allowed to take off.

I  was trying to calm down a lady who was constantly crying. She was very upset and her body was covered by small cuts. She was wearing a bandage on her arm.

She told me:  “I was on a tour bus and the bus was attacked by terrorists and a roadside bomb exploded. There was a sudden pressure and a loud bang when we were passing by a new museum close to the Pyramides. Within seconds,  there was broken glass flying around everywhere. It was like a shotgun hitting my face, my arms, and my husband’s legs. My husband was wearing shorts.

I was lucky enough to wear sunglasses. My glasses and my camera was damaged, but I didn’t have any injuries to my eyes. Many of the people on the bus not wearing glasses suffered serious eye injuries.

We had about 25 passengers on the bus, and first responders arrived almost instantly and were quick to take us to hospitals. The doctors and nurses were absolutely fantastic. They are my heroes.  They really cared so much.

The Hon. Rania Al-Mashat, the minister of tourism for Egypt came to the hospital and was very sweet. She apologized for the incident and said she would do everything possible to help.

Some passengers only had minor injuries, and the minister arranged a private tour to see the Great Pyramid. The tour was accompanied by a special security team arranged by the minister.

African Tourism Board CEO Doris Woerfel added:” Its paradox.  I had a meeting with Mr. Ahmed Yousef, Chairman of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Board at the Ministry of Tourism. I wanted to discuss cooperation with African Tourism Board and bring up the subject of safety and security. The chairman had to cancel the meeting and agreed to postpone our discussion.

Egypt remains to be an excellent destination like no other. I hope the country can quickly recover from today’s incident.
When I discussed the beauty of Egypt during the flight, the lady agreed but started crying again.

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Egypt Tourism Minister: Tourism is key to rapprochement and peace

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Egyptian Tourism Minister Rania al-Mashat and winner of IIPT Award said that Tourism and travel are the key to peaceful borders, cultural exchanges, bridge-building, communication, rapprochement and peace, especially in light of recent political and economic changes in the world.

World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) conducted a study revealing that the growth rate of the tourism sector in Egypt reached 16.5% in 2018.

In statements on the sidelines of her visit to Jordan for the World Economic Forum in the Middle East and North Africa, which was held from April 6 to 7, Mashat explained that this rate is higher than the average global growth of 3.9%, noting the remarkable development and improvement witnessed by the tourism industry.

The minister pointed out that her goal since taking on her role in tourism has been to change the stereotypical image of Egyptian tourism, a goal that has already begun to be achieved. The impact of these developments has been shown through the expressed appreciation of many international institutions and international reports for the developments and growth witnessed within the sector.

She pointed out that Egypt recently won the Global Champion Award in addition to positive reports published by several international agencies and media on tourism in Egypt.

She pointed out that Egyptian tourism now has a common vision and plan, which is being worked out by all parties related to the sector from government, Parliament, private sector groups, investors, etc., pointing out that the structural reform program launched by the Tourism Ministry for the development of the sector is the result of the consolidation of these visions and ideas.

The minister pointed the importance of cooperation and openness between peoples, adding that this comes within the framework of the new recreational plan for Egypt through the concept of People to People (p2p), which is based on the openness of the Egyptian people to other peoples.

Travel News | eTurboNews

Middle East visitors to Egypt to increase 50% by 2022, ATM report reveals

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Arrivals from the Middle East to Egypt are expected to increase 50% from 1.49 million in 2018 to 2.23 million in 2022 with visitors from Saudi Arabia driving this growth, according to data published ahead of Arabian Travel Market 2019, which takes place at Dubai World Trade Centre from 28 April – 1 May 2019.

While arrivals from Europe are expected to be the largest contributor on a regional basis, increasing from 6.2 million in 2018 to 9.1 million tourists in 2022, the latest research from Colliers International revealed arrivals from the Middle East will actually witness the highest Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) at 11%.

Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said: “Over the last 12 months, Egypt’s tourism industry has witnessed healthy and steady growth, with arrivals up 14.5% from 8.3 million in 2017 to 9.5 million in 2018. Growth has been fuelled by the cheaper Egyptian Pound and government incentives for charter airlines operating international flights.

“Adding to this, we are witnessing this growth first hand at ATM with the total number of attendees coming from Egypt increasing 16% YoY.”

Taking advantage of this resurgence in tourists are some of Egypt’s most prominent tourism companies including Dana Tours, Nicolas Tours and Standard Tours who will exhibit at ATM 2019 – and of course the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Board who will have a major presence too.

Egypt tourism capital investment is estimated to reach US$ 4.2billion (EGP 75bn) in 2019, up 25 per cent on 2018, as the country strives to keep pace with an ongoing leisure travel boom and GDP growth.

The data from Colliers revealed that Egypt’s total tourism revenue will increase at a CAGR of 16.5% between 2018 and 2022 – outperforming the business segment. During 2017 and 2018, the leisure spend was US$ 13.79billion (EGP 239bn) and US$ 16.67billion (EGP 289bn) respectively, while business totaled US$ 1.93billion (EGP 33.5bn) and US$ 2.36billion (EGP 41bn) over the same period.

“The overall revenue generated by the leisure segment in 2018 represented 87% of total tourism spend and we expect this growth to continue as a series of new government and private sector attractions and investments are unveiled – including the development of new airports and new luxury hotel resorts in Red Sea destinations Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada,” Curtis said.

Egypt has a diverse range of source markets – decreasing the risk of being over-reliant on one specific market. Germany, Russia, the UK and Italy are Egypt’s top four source markets, with the first and last in top gear – both growing 29% in 2018 – and showing the highest CAGR growth of 11%.

The UK, which recorded just a 4% increase in arrivals between 2017 and 2018, has traditionally been a long-standing major source market for the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh. However, an ongoing ban on direct flights between the two destinations has stifled visitor numbers.

Curtis added: “It is hoped the recent resumption of Serbian flights to Sharm El Sheikh after a six-year absence and the introduction of Turkish Airlines’ daily flight from Moscow to the Red Sea via Istanbul, will kick-start direct flights between the UK and Egypt, and of course Russia and Egypt.”

ATM, considered by industry professionals as a barometer for the Middle East and North Africa tourism sector, welcomed over 39,000 people to its 2018 event, showcasing the largest exhibition in the history of the show, with hotels comprising 20% of the floor area.

Brand new for this year’s show will be the launch of Arabian Travel Week, an umbrella brand comprising four co-located shows including ATM 2019, ILTM Arabia, CONNECT Middle East, India & Africa – a new route development forum and new consumer-led event ATM Holiday Shopper. Arabian Travel Week will take place at Dubai World Trade Centre from 27 April – 1 May 2019.

About Arabian Travel Market (ATM)

Arabian Travel Market is the leading, international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. ATM 2018 attracted almost 40,000 industry professionals, with representation from 141 countries over the four days. The 25th edition of ATM showcased over 2,500 exhibiting companies across 12 halls at Dubai World Trade Centre.  Arabian Travel Market 2019 will take place in Dubai from Sunday, 28th April to Wednesday, 1st May 2019. To find out more, please visit: www.arabiantravelmarket.wtm.com.

About Arabian Travel Week

Arabian Travel Week is an umbrella brand comprising four co-located shows including Arabian Travel Market and ILTM Arabia as well as CONNECT Middle East, India and Africa – a new route development forum launching this year and ATM’s first ever consumer event – ATM Holiday Shopper. Providing a renewed focus for the Middle East’s travel and tourism sector – under one roof over the course of one week – the inaugural Arabian Travel Week will take place at Dubai World Trade Centre from Saturday 27th April – Wednesday 1st May 2019. For more information visit: arabiantravelweek.com

About CONNECT

CONNECT Route Development Forum delivers a total networking experience, bringing together airports, airlines and aviation suppliers in a format that offers formal one-to-one pre-arranged meetings, engaging industry seminars together with social opportunities to cement relationships with existing clients and engage with new ones. Created and organised by The Airport Agency-France, CONNECT is now in its 16th year and set to attract over 650 participants in June 2019 at its flagship event taking place in Cagliari, Sardinia. For more information, visit: www.connect-aviation.com

The inaugural CONNECT Middle East, India & Africa event will be the first and only networking forum in the Middle East. Ideally located in Dubai to address the booming aviation market of the Middle East, it will bring together the aviation and the tourism industry which are the backbone and catalyst to economic development. For more information, visit: www.connect-aviation.com/2019-meia/

About ATM Holiday Shopper

ATM Holiday Shopper is the brand-new travel event for consumers offering the very best travel and tourism discounts and deals plus the chance to learn about a range of emerging and unexplored destinations and activities from destinations around the world.  The inaugural event will take place in Hall 1 of the Dubai World Trade Centre on Saturday, 27th April 2019 from 12:00 – 20:00. For more information, visit: www.atmholidayshopper.com

About ILTM Arabia

International Luxury Travel Market Arabia is an exclusive event for those looking to attract HNW travellers from the Middle East to their destination. Returning for its third year, ILTM will allow international luxury suppliers and key luxury buyers to connect via one-to-one pre-scheduled appointments and networking opportunities. ILTM will take place on Sunday 28th April and Monday 29th April 2019. For more information, visit: www.iltm.com/arabia/

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