Egypt lines up wonders beyond Sphinx

NEW DELHI: There is so much to Egypt besides the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. This is the message Samy Mahmoud, tourism counselor, Egyptian Tourism Authority (ETA), is spreading among Indian tourists.

Egypt is steeped in history, and their popular resorts such as the Sharm el-Sheikh are frequented by the likes Tony Blair and which Bill Clinton describes as paradise. But there are also temples and ancient churches that very few tourists know about. Also, many wonders lie beyond the borders of Cairo.

India is an important market for Egypt. In 2006, 65,000 Indians traveled to Egypt, which is an increase of 15% compared with 2005. As an effort to improve tourist traffic from India, Egypt is starting a flight from Delhi and adding one more from Mumbai.

At the moment, there is one direct flight from Mumbai to Cairo that flies twice a week. The air fare of a return ticket on Egypt Air is $400, which Mahmoud says is not high. Connecting flights to Egypt such as Qatar, Emirates and Gulf cost less Mahmoud adds.

Therefore, bringing down the fares is not on ETA’s agenda but yes, its hopes that the Indian aviation ministry agrees to start an Indian flight to Egypt. “Air India does not fly to Egypt. This is one such matter we are bringing up in the agenda,” says Mahmoud.

Revenue from tourism is important to Egypt’s national economy. In 2006, 9 million visitors came to Egypt tourism and earned Egypt $ 6.5 billion, which is 13% of Egypt’s GDP. The country targets 16 million tourists by 2014

Over the years Asia has become an important market for Egypt. Japan contributes 75,000 tourists followed by India and China. At the moment 60% of the traffic comes from Western Europe, 20% from the Gulf countries, 10% from East Europe and 10% from Far East.

A miniscule 4% is from Latin America. But the traffic from Asia has been steadily growing.

Since Asia, and in particular India is a lucrative market for Egypt, the ETA has lined up special promotions for India. The international advertising campaign, handled by DDB London, will be released in India through its India partner, Mudra Communications. Mahmoud says that some adaptations will be made to the campaign keeping in mind the Indian market. To begin with, there will be a print campaign supported by on-ground activities. The ETA has planned a road-show in major malls of Gurgaon (Haryana), Mumbai and Hyderabad. The purpose of these promotions will be to create awareness about Egypt.

ETA is spending $100,000 on the current line-up of promotional activities. Post July 2007, ETA plans to spend close to $300,000 on marketing and promotion of Egypt as a tourist destination.

A TV campaign would vast difference in branding Egypt, but the airtime rates are intimidating. “One minute of airtime will cost me $50,000-60,000. It is better that I invite the media to Egypt and this will give me airtime of more than 30 minutes,” says Mahmoud.

In fact, Mahmoud is in talks with Bollywood producers to promote Egypt. There are beautiful locales in Egypt Indian producers could use. To promote Indian culture, the ETA is inviting Indian folk dancers to perform at the Giza.