EGYPT saw a 17 per cent increase in visitors numbers from the USA in 2008, a dramatic over the previous year, according a report by eTurbo News.
The Hon Zoheir Garranah, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism said, “We had 319,000 thousand visitors from the US last year, representing a 17 percent increase.” Garranah was quoted as saying, “Egypt is optimistic that despite the challenging economic climate, this growth will continue because we have an excellent, diverse, high-quality tourism product that offers Americans great value for the dollar.”
“We are confident that the travel industry will bounce back, and we will be ready. We have modernised our airports, ports, roads, and we are now working on our railway networks. Regarding hotel investment, Egypt has been very successful in attracting international investment in tourism. It is interesting to note that the US has the largest market share among foreign hotel management companies. By the end of 2008, we had 211,000 rooms with 156,000 under construction, 70 percent of which are at Egypt’s coastal resorts.”
Egypt also hosted or will be hosting four major US based travel industry organisations within an eight month period. These include the American Tourism Society (ATS) which held a conference in Cairo in October last year, followed by the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) Freelance Council in February this year. The United States Tour Operator Association (USTOA) Executive Council takes place this month and the Annual Africa Travel Association International Congress takes place in May.
Egypt has also been named as the world’s Best Country Brand for History in the latest 2008 Country Brand Index (CBI), edging out other historically rich country destinations like France, Italy, Greece and China. This indicates Egypt’s continuing success in being able to market the country’s rich historical heritage and positioning itself as one of the prime tourist destinations in the world.
The latest CBI also puts Egypt in the top three list of world’s Best Country Brand for Arts and Culture and is also cited for being in the top five list of world’s Best Country Brand for Authenticity.
