Diversity of Egyptian tourism

Egypt was known throughout its history as a destination for tourists and travelers since it was visited by "Herodotus" during the ancient time, when he got surprised because of the vast difference between Egypt and his homeland. Egypt maintained this image throughout the middle and modern history. However, the discovery of the Pharaonic antiquities long time ago has added a special charm to Egypt, besides its unique religious and cultural monuments. On the other hand, Egypt enjoys a geographical location, and a moderate climate all the year-round, along with its smooth vast coastlines, and beaches with its unique treasures of coral reefs, providing Egypt with advantages of a competitive edge.



Besides cultural and archaeological tourism for which Egypt is so famous, many tourism attraction types have come into existence addressing broader segments of tourists across the world, such as recreational tourism, beaches tourism, religious tourism, therapeutic tourism, eco-tourism, sports tourism, golf tourism, safari tourism, desert tourism, yacht tourism, and maritime tourism in addition to tourism festivals, cultural events and conferences and exhibitions.



In addition to these types of tourism, "Diving Centers Tourism" represents a tourist activity that attracts large numbers of tourists. Sharm El-Sheikh resort city is one of the largest diving centers in the world because of its environmental potential and uniquely diversified nature which makes it one of the major centers for attracting domestic and international tourism, in addition to being a resort for armatures fishing and diving. There you will find the biggest diving centers equipped with the latest devices, because of which, World Travel Awards awarded Sharm el-Sheikh the best global destination for diving in 2007.

Moreover, conference tourism in Egypt has steadily increased over the past six years where the total events held in Cairo International Conference Center amounted to 665 events, including 132 international and local conferences and 235 exhibitions and 298 ceremonies and occasions. In 2008, Egypt witnessed a significant recovery of conference tourism, with the hosting of many conferences such as the world economic forum (Davos) in Sharm El-Sheikh, The National Conference on Population and the African Union Summit, and most recently the non-aligned movement summit which was held in Sharm El-Sheikh (city of peace) on July 15 and 16, 2009.



Festival tourism is also one of the most important types of tourism activity, encompassing sport, recreational, artistic and many other festivals. Egypt holds many popular festivals such as Cairo International Song Festival, International Film Festival, and Tourism and Shopping Festival, the annual fishing festival for amateurs and Alexandria International Festival for Mediterranean Song and the Sharm el-Sheikh International Championship for Bowling.

In September 2007, Al-Sharkeya governorate organized the XVI International Festival for Arab Horses, which is one of the most important tourism festivals in Egypt. The festival has organized several shows including the musical horse taming and horseback gymnastics and other shows of various musical trots with horses, in addition to the skill of brandishing weapons while riding a horse.



In 2007, Egypt won the second rank among the best 5 tourist destinations in the Middle East for setting up conferences and festivals on the sidelines of Egypt`s participation in the Gulf Incentive Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition.



No wonder, with all these attractions and capabilities, tourism is currently one of the main pillars of the Egyptian Economy. It accounts for 11.3% of Egypt`s GDP, 40% of the total Egypt`s non-commodity exports and 19.3% of Egypt`s foreign currency revenues. It has also brought Egypt a number of internationally recognized awards, such as the prize of best tourist pavilion among 300 participants in the International Tourism Exhibition that was held in Linz, Austria, in 2007. Egypt Pavilion was designed in the shape of an ancient Pharaonic temple. In 2008, the World Travel Awards Organization has awarded the Pyramids of Giza the prize of the best tourist attractive element in the world, during the celebration of the Fourteen Meeting of the organization, which was recently held in the Caribbean islands. And Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak has received the Declaration of Wadi Al-Hitan in Fayoum governorate, a world natural heritage, the first protected heritage in Egypt to join the list of World Natural Heritage sites which contains 259 locations. In addition, the report of the World Tourism Organization in 2008 states that the Tourism Sector has significantly developed in the year 2007, with the number of tourists reaching about 11.1 million tourists, an increase of about two million tourists equivalent to 22.1% than the previous year 2006.



For more information on tourism in Egypt, please visit www.egypt.travel or www.myegypt.or.kr