The Egyptian tourism. Basically talk about the tourism in Egypt
The essay should have a title page with the student’s name and the title of the assignment, followed by a five-page report, and end with a reference page. The report must be well-structured, typed, and double-spaced, using 12 font-sizes with one-inch margins. The report should consist of the following questions and should be an essay style:
1: Country overview: Location, physical and cultural geography including ethnic groups, indigenous people, cultures, and languages, population, economy, etc.
2: Tourism Statistics: Major inbound markets, international tourist arrivals, tourism receipts, travel patterns, and trend
3: Importance of tourism in the country: The role of tourism in cultural exchange, conservation, or national economy indicated by tourism GDP, international tourism receipts
4: Destination marketing: The administration of tourism. Is there a tourism authority operated by the government or what do they do? How is the country promoted as a tourist destination?
5: Potentials and challenges of tourism development for the country:
Note. When you discuss potentials and challenges, be specific to your country.
Potentials for tourism in the country (Discuss 2-3 areas where tourism might grow for the country.)
Challenges for tourism in the country (Discuss 2-3 challenges of the tourism
6: A bibliography in APA style. You also need to cite references in the text. Use of journal articles, news articles, books, and authentic sources.
7: Grammar, spelling, and overall writing, format, flow, introduction, and conclusion.
Egyptian tourism
Institutional affiliation:
Name:
Instructor:
Date:
Egyptian tourism
An overview of the country
Egypt is an African country located on the northeastern side of the continent. The country shares its borders with Sudan to the south, the Mediterranean Sea to the northern part, Libya which is situated in the west side and the Red Sea to the east. The Suez Canal separates Egypt from the Sinai Peninsula. The Sinai Peninsula is a trilateral stretch of the desert which bridges the gap between Southwest Asia and North American. It is has a total area of approximately 995,450 square kilometres or 384,345 square miles (TripSavvy, 2020). Egypt is a hot dry country having an arid desert climatic condition that leads to moderate winters and scorching summers. It is regarded as the jewel among the North African countries and a common destination nature lover, history buffs as well as adventure seekers. The country’s heartland, River Nile and delta was the residence of one of the principal citizens of the olden Middle East. River Nile is the primary water source for the country. The River is 6,853 in terms of length and flows northern wards through more than 10 African countries. The fertile Nile Delta is responsible for the great proportion of agricultural output. Egypt is home to various iconic sights in the world such as the Great Pyramid situated as Giza.
Ancient Egypt became a united kingdom in about 3,150 BC under the leadership of successive dynasties for approximately 3,000 years. This is considered a period of pharaohs and pyramids that is characterized by incredible culture with great advances in arts, architecture, religion and language. The country’s cultural richness was supported by remarkable wealth brought about by trade and agriculture which is attributed to the fertility of the Nile Valley (TripSavvy, 2020). The invasion of foreigners led to the crumbling of Old dynasties and New Kingdoms. Mesopotamians and the Persians conquered Egypt in 332 BC. The country remained part of the Macedonian empire from 332 BC to 31 BC when it was ruled by Roman. By the fourth century AD, the development of Christianity across the Roman Empire fueled the replacement of the old-fashioned Egyptian religion until when Muslim Arabs subjugated it in 642 AD. Arab leaders continued to rule Egypt until when it was engrossed into the Ottoman Empire in 1517. The country later experienced famine, weakened economy and plague that paved the way for conflicts over its leadership, for instance, the invasion Napoleonic France. However, Napoleon was later forced to leave Egypt by the Ottoman Turks and the British. The Republic of Egypt was established in 1956 under President Nasser.
Currently, Egypt has a population of over 102 million people making it the third most populated country in Africa after Nigeria and Ethiopia. About 99.7 % of inhabitants are Egyptians while the remaining proportion is non-Egyptians. Many nationals speak Arabic, English as well as French although Arabic is the country’s official language. Approximately 90% of the population are Muslims while 10% includes other Christians like the Catholics and Anglicans. Egypt is also the third-largest economy in African. By the end of 2019, the GDP stood at $299.58 billion.
Tourism statistics
The tourism and travel industry is one of the leading economic sectors in Egypt, generating a significant amount of revenue for the government. Statistics indicate that in 2018 the government generated about USD 12.7 billion for the Gross Domestic Product (about 11% of the GDP). The great performance exhibited by the tourism and travel sector is attributed to Egypt’s captivating history, breathtaking beaches as well as interesting culture. The country is widely recognized as a travel destination in the world. Many tourism visits Egypt to enjoy different types of activities, cultures and beautiful sceneries like Pyramids. In 2017, Egypt was ranked the third among the countries with the most international tourist in the Middle East, receiving over 8 million arrivals in 2017 after the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Generally, the Egyptian economy has had a continuous increase in revenue from the tourism sector for the past few years due to increased economic activities brought about by travel agents, hotels, restaurants and airlines. The sector also contributes to the employment of Egyptians. In 2019 the tourism sector grew by 21%.
In 2010 my tourism visited Egypt with the number standing at 14.05 million. However, there was a decline in 2011 from 14.05 million to 9.5 million. Since then, the number of tourist arrival has remained fairly constant over the years but then, there was a significant decline in 2016 to 5.26 million after the crush of Russian plane (Statista, 2020). In 2017, the number increased from 5.26 million to 8.16 million. Arrivals increased from 8.16 million in 2017 to 13.6 million in 2019. The graph illustrates changes in tourist arrival and trends since 2010.
Graph 1: Tourist arrival in Egypt between 2010 and 2019
Political conflicts negatively affected the Egyptian tourism sector and the economy at large between 2011 and 2013. The travel and tourism sector was adversely affected by global arrivals declining at about 33% in 2011. However, the signs of recovery were experienced in 2014 (Statista, 2020). The trends in between 2017 and 2017 show that the tourism sector has grown significantly. However, the sector would be adversely affected in 2020 due to the Corona Virus, a global pandemic that has affected many countries.
Egypt has various natural landscapes as well as cultural heritage sites. It is a home of the 7 UNESCO world’s heritage establishes including Nubian monuments at Abu Simbel and Wadi Al-Hitan, the pyramid fields extending from Giza to Dahshur, the pyramid of Khafre. Other tourist attractions include beaches, museums, Mosques and River Nile (Effat & Hegazy, 2009). As states before, international arrivals in Egypt have been changed over the years due to conflicts. Nevertheless, in the past three years, the country has had a significant increase in arrivals leading to increase in receipts or revenues. The graph below indicates changes in receipt between 2008 and 2019.
Graph 2: International tourism receipts for Egypt since 2008.
The significance of tourism in Egypt
Tourism is one of the major sources of the government’s income in Egypt. As mention earlier, Egypt generated more than 12 billion from the tourism sector. In 2008 revenues from the sector as about 5.5% of totals income, in 2009 the sector contributed 5.3% while in 2010 and 2011, the figures stood at 4.5% and 3.6% respectively. According to recent statistics, the sector contributed over 10% of GDP and employs about 10% of the total population (Maxim-tours.com, 2020). Thus, tourism provides employment opportunities for many nationals. Additionally, the sector plays a significant role in cultural exchanges by allowing Egyptians to learn from foreigners and foreigners to learn cultural aspects of foreigners, something that reinforces identity, helps build image and strengthens economic ties between countries (Amr Emam, 2020). Furthermore, tourism motivates Egyptian to conserve their resources and ensure that the country remains attractive to tourists.
Destination marketing.
The tourism sector in Egypt is managed by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism, a government department that established legal, regulatory framework and policies for the sector. The sector is also directed by other agencies that work under the ministry (El-Gohary, 2012). Thus, the Egyptian Tourism Authority (ETA) as well as the Tourism Development Authority (DTA) (Ali, 2017). The two departments work in liaison with the ministry and fall under its jurisdiction. The TDA works towards improving the sector by facilitating developments and marketing initiatives (promotion of domestic and inbound tourism) (Richter & Steiner, 2008). The existence of the three authorities reveals that indeed there is a tourism authority in the country. The tourism sector in Egypt is promoted through promotional campaigns, online and physical adverts, and promotional videos among other channels.
Potential and challenges of tourism development Des
Challenges
Despite the great contribution of the tourism sector in the Egyptian economy, the sector has experienced many challenges in the recent past including political conflicts that occurred between 2011 and 2013, economic instability and high profile security occurrences. Political conflicts led to a substantial decrease in tourism revenues in 2011 and 2012. Terror incidences adversely affect the sector, for instance, the Temple of Hatshepsut attack in 1997 and terror incidence in 1997 led to a decline in a number of visitors (Oxford Business Group, 2020). In 2011, the sector experienced a dramatic fall in the number of tourist and revenues due to the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Some terror attacks in 2015 led to a further decline in already affected sector. The decline in revenues led to economic problems that made it somehow difficult to effectively sustain the sector.
Potential
The Egyptian tourism sector remains competitive with attractive destinations in the world with many sites. Some of these destinations have already been mention in the previous section. For instance, historic monuments, the Nile Valley and beaches. These sites enhance the potential of the country to make more investment in the sector through marketing, promotion and conservation (Oxford Business Group, 2020). Additionally, Egypt has an opportunity to facilitate the diversification of the sector. Through the development of other products and activities that can attract more tourists. Finally, the country can work towards enhancing infrastructure and industry sustainability to support the movement of tourists and improve the sector’s health.
References
Ali, I. (2017). Effectiveness of EHRM on the Organizations’ Performance Applied to Egyptian Tourism Authority. International Journal of Heritage, Tourism and Hospitality, 11(2), 125-142.
Amr Emam (2020). COVID-19 comes with a high cost to the Egyptian economy. https://thearabweekly.com/covid-19-comes-high-cost-egyptian-economy.
Effat, H., & Hegazy, M. N. (2009). Cartographic modelling and multicriteria evaluation for exploring the potentials for tourism development in the Suez governorate, Egypt. Applied Geoinformatics for Society and Environment, 103, 11-18.
El-Gohary, H. (2012). Factors affecting E-Marketing adoption and implementation in tourism firms: An empirical investigation of Egyptian small tourism organisations. Tourism Management, 33(5), 1256-1269.
Maxim-tours.com. (2020). The importance of tourism in Egypt – Maxim Tours. http://www.maxim-tours.com/en/the-importance-of-tourism-in-egypt/.
Oxford Business Group. (2020). Egypt’s tourism sector showing strengths despite challenges. https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/overview/testing-times-while-current-challenges-are- myriad-sector-has-considerable-strengths-and-long-term.
Richter, T., & Steiner, C. (2008). Politics, Economics and Tourism Development in Egypt: insights into the sectoral transformations of a neo-patrimonial rentier state. Third World Quarterly, 29(5), 939-959.
Statista. (2020). Egypt – tourist arrivals 2017. https://www.statista.com/statistics/970638/egypt-tourist-arrivals
TripSavvy. (2020). An Overview of Egyptian Geography, History & Modern Politics. https://www.tripsavvy.com/egypt-country-map-and-essential-information- 4081188#:~:text=Egypt’s%20Geography&text=It%20is%20a%20hot%2C%20dry,scorch ing%20summers%20and%20moderate%20winters.&text=Flowing%20northwards%20th rough%2011%20African,longest%20river%20in%20the%20world.
