The tourism sector of Egypt has been experiencing major growth in the last couple of years. The Minister of Tourism of Egypt, Rania Al-Mashat informed Daily News Egypt that tourism is resolutely positioned as one of the fastest growing sectors in Egypt and contributes about 15% to the economy of the country and is one of the most significant services exports.
DNE interviewed Al-Mashat, to find out the latest updates and future plans of the sector.
Could we talk about Ministry’s Egypt— Tourism Reform program?
Last year on November, after ten months in office, with my team, I introduced the Egypt—Tourism Reform Program (E—TRP) from the Egyptian Parliament.
This structural reform program is planned to alter the story of Egyptian tourism altogether. The main aim is to attain a sustainable tourism sector via executing structural reforms that fortify the competitiveness of the sector and are consistent with international standards.
The structural reform pillars are: Institutional, Legislative, Branding & Promotion, Infrastructure & Tourism Development, and International Tourism Trends. All this is aimed at putting Egypt on the path of sustainability, consistent with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The E-TRP is a framework. For every pillar, there are definite targets and needs specific procedures to attain them.
Our overarching purpose is that one individual from every household in Egypt at least works directly or indirectly in the tourism sector.
Till now, we have made steady progress and have successfully implemented many aspects of the pillars of the Egypt— Tourism Reform Program. The first monitoring report will be published next October.
In 2019, the theme of the Euromoney is the fintech. Therefore, in your opinion how the technologies can advantage the tourism sector?
I believe that technological innovation and digital solutions are vital in enhancing competitiveness in tourism.
E-TRP targets at developing Egypt’s tourism by making the use of modern technology and adopting sustainable tourism strategies. This is covered in the last pillar ‘International Tourism Trends’. There is a section about digitalization.
Tags: Egypt tourism
