Egypt: Back in business

I’ve been in Egypt’s travel sector for over ten years and started out in the industry as a tour leader. When I started guiding people around the country, in July 2007, Egypt’s tourism sector was booming. We welcomed more than 10 million international tourists that year – an increase of 23 per cent from the year prior. I loved tour leading: interacting with people and sharing our life experiences was very rewarding. Watching the group glimpse the Pyramids for the first time is indescribable.

After three years as a leader, I moved into a position in Intrepid DMC’s Cairo office in September 2010, as the Product and Purchasing Manager. Egypt was now welcoming more than 14 million visitors, but all that changed in January 2011 with the Egyptian Revolution, By the end of the year, the number of people visiting Egypt had dropped by 32 %. Years of political instability followed, during which time visitor numbers continued to dwindle. Given the number of people who work both directly and indirectly in the tourism industry, this was disastrous for Egypt’s economy and a very tough time for our company, resulting in us unable to offer much work to our local tour guides.

However, we now have some good news. I couldn’t be happier to report that Egypt is now very much back in business! In 2018, we carried over 6000 passengers through the country – an increase of 136 % from 2017. This year, we are projecting to carry more than 10,000.  This increase in passenger numbers has meant we have finally been able to bring back many of our tour leaders, as well as work with many new leaders! Most excitingly we now have thirteen female leaders.  

Gender equality is very important to our business, with a 50/50 gender split amongst our office team. By the end of 2020, we are aiming to have the same amongst our tour leaders as well.

For the first time in a long time, there is a sense of hope and optimism about the future of the tourism industry in Egypt. Perhaps the biggest symbol of this optimism is the construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum, or GEM, which I was lucky enough to see last week on a special preview visit. The museum is set to open to the public early next year. When it opens, it will be the largest museum in the world dedicated to the heritage of a single civilisation, housing over 100,000 artefacts including the complete collection of Tutankhamen’s tomb. Along with the other board members of Intrepid DMC Egypt, we had the privilege of visiting the Conservation Centre, where there are dedicated labs for the preservation of stone, wood, organic (e.g. textiles) inorganic (e.g. ceramics) and human remains. It was fascinating to hear from the conservationists about how they work to restore all these different materials. The museum is incredibly impressive, and I can’t wait for it to open so our customers can experience it as well.

If you don't have Egypt in your destination offering, then what are you waiting for? There’s never been a better time to bring your clients back. Ahlan Washlan!