Two Days of work for tourism in Upper Egypt

The Embassy of Italy in Cairo, in collaboration with the Governorate of Luxor, contributed to the first edition of the “Italian Days in Luxor”. The event, which takes place on 30 and 31 October 2019, provides for the creation of thematic workshops dedicated to the themes of craftsmanship, culture, cuisine and archeology. Venue of the event is Luxor, a destination that traditionally represents a historical and cultural landmark for Egypt, so much that it is often called “the largest open-air museum” in Egypt. Its beauties range from the most famous monumental sites in the world - among which there are Karnak, Abu Simbel, temples of Luxor, Valleys of Kings and Queens - to the natural beauty of the lake Nasser. So the tourist flows in the area have enormous potential for growth, also fueled by projects to improve accommodation facilities, currently underway. After the drop in visits occurred since 2011, in recent years there has been a steady recovery which, as far as arrivals from Italy are concerned, is however still below those of the main European countries. “Italian Days in Luxor” have among their objectives to promote greater awareness among the operators in the sector of the great opportunities offered to the tourism industry by this region and to launch concrete initiatives to seize the full potential. The event is also part of a context of growing demand in Italy for cultural and quality tourism: this is why complementarities are natural with the imposing and diversified offer of archaeological tourist sites that Upper Egypt offers, especially along the Nile. Now, tourism in Egypt is worth 20% of economy: at the same time Italy continues to be one of the main incoming markets for Egypt. If in 2018 11 million 346 thousand tourists arrived in Egypt, 421 thousand of them from Italy, in 2019 the statistics already show an increase of 40% to the previous year. Based on these data, the Italian tourists in Egypt for 2019, in the expectations of the Egyptian tourist office, should easily exceed the 500 thousand units. If Italians have concentrated largely on the seaside, both in Red Sea and in the Mediterranean, they are returning to visit classical Egypt. “The increase in tourists in 2019 - Egyptian tourism minister Rania al Mashat explained - is certainly due also to a renewed perception of security in the country and also to a political stability that undoubtedly helps”. The increasingly strong return of Italian tourists to Egypt was discussed last week at the Egyptian Tourist Office’s stand in TTG Travel Experience Rimini, the important fair in the Italian tourism sector. “Red Sea is doing very well - said President of the Egyptian Tourist Board Ahmed Youssef in Rimini - but in the end there are growing all the classic Egyptian venues and the seaside resorts of the Mediterranean. So, in 2019 Italians in Egypt should exceed 500,000 units and grow again in 2020. Italy and Egypt have for years been very close, for tourism and not only, and this relationship is naturally important also for the economic growth of my country. I hope that, thanks also to the meetings with the operators made at the Rimini fair and constantly, Italy can become the first player for tourism. In the coming months, the new global marketing campaign will start and will certainly help further increase the number of arrivals in Egypt“.