Egypt In Aggressive Campaign To Woo More M'sian Tourists

By Voon Miaw Ping & Nabilah Saleh KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 (Bernama) -- The Egyptian Tourist Authority (ETA) will embark on an aggressive tourism campaign to woo more Malaysian tourists to the country, considering that this segment of the market is still not fully tapped. According to Egypt's Deputy Tourism Minister Samy Mahmoud, plans for the campaign in Malaysia were in the pipeline. The campaign is expected to be launched soon. "We see a huge potential in Malaysia's market, and as such, we are looking at ways to strategically attract more Malaysians to visit Egypt," he told the media during an interview at Wisma Bernama here Wednesday. He said the plans included organising road shows, placing advertisements in the print and electronic media, conducting arts and cultural performances and forging partnerships with the local travel agents. Mahmoud added that the ETA was also planning to enter into an agreement with Malaysia's tourism ministry to boost the industry. He said, apart from Egypt's traditional attractions -– pyramids, the Sphinx, and the remains of Egypt's Islamic and ancient civilisations -– the country was famous for its golf courses, unique desert and safari expeditions, and spa and wellness centres. "I know that Malaysia has lots of beautiful beaches. But in Egypt, we also have nice beaches along the Red Sea with beautiful coral reefs, which we believe can offer a good diving experience for divers," he remarked. Malaysia ranked only seventh, behind Indonesia and the Philippines, in terms of tourists from the Asian region visiting Egypt in 2010 -- with a total of 34,000 visitors. The majority of visitors to Egypt from the Asian region come from Japan, followed by India, China and South Korea. In 2010, the maximum number of tourists in Egypt came from Russia, followed by the UK, Germany and Italy. Mahmoud noted that about 80 per cent of visitors to Egypt came for leisure. In 2010, Egypt recorded a total of 14.7 million tourists, generating revenue amounting to US$12.5 billion. However, following the political uprising in January, last year, the sector suffered immensely, and only 9.8 million tourists visited the country that year. Revenue thus, dropped to US$8.8 billion. Meanwhile, Mahmoud affirmed that Egypt's security aspects were generally good, despite the revolt being followed by incidents of ongoing street violence in downtown Cairo. "Egypt is not all about Tahrir Square. Egypt is huge, and this is a fact. The world should be well informed that Egypt is safe, especially for Malaysians. "Although Tahrir Square witnessed a massive uprising on Jan 25, when the revolution took place, it does not mean that the whole of Egypt is affected. You can see that on the other side of the River Nile, everything is normal," he pointed out. On the future of Egypt's tourism industry, the deputy minister said he was optimistic the industry would recover and flourish. "We are now a new Egypt, especially after the revolution. The Egyptians are now friendlier, more open-minded and more honoured to welcome tourists," he added. Mahmoud is here on an official visit to attend the Malaysian International Tourism Exchange 2012 and World Islamic Mart (WITM) 2012. Egypt is also the Silver Sponsor of WITM 2012. -- BERNAMA