The National Day of the Arab Republic of Egypt was celebrated in Rome, Italy. The venue was the lush gardens of Villa Savoia, the historic residence that belonged to the late King of Italy, located within the Villa Ada Park and for many years the official residence of the ambassadors of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
Egypt is still far from that million Italian presence registered in 2010, however, the trend recorded during the first 6 months of 2017 with 100,000 Italians (+70% over the same period of the previous year) increases the confidence on growth. This is shown also by international markets.
Egyptian Embassy historical building / Photo © Mario Masciullo
The Germans’ contribution performed with more than 503,000 visitors in the first 6 months this year, driving the rankings among European tourists, followed by the United Kingdom (147,174), Italy (over 100,000), and France (over 62,000). Good results also came from the United States (with over a 104,000 presence).
The Egyptian Tourism Minister, Mohamed Yehia Rashed, returned to office to organize a meeting with the President and Vice President of Fiavet, (Italian Federation of Travel Agents) Jacopo De Ria and Ivana Jelinic in Cairo to review talks for the immediate future and strengthen cooperation with Italian travel agents.
Media at the event / Photo © Mario Masciullo
Mr. Rashed assured that the fight against terrorism will continue to its global eradication.
According to De Ria, a joint Egypt-Italy communication plan on safety directed to Italian travel agents, as well as fam trips could help to instill confidence. These changes could create a new generation of travel agents with a fresh mindset, and it was determined that the social web could help also.
Another gimmick could be to gift clients going to Egypt with sim cards to access the Internet for an hour, allowing them to share social photos in real time.
In the gardens / Photo © Mario Masciullo
Meanwhile, Fiavet management is considering the minister’s proposal to organize one of the next National Councils in Egypt – Aswan or Sharm El Sheikh – next fall.
PHOTO: From left – Mr. E. Abdalla, GM Italy Egypt Tourism; Mr. M. Nasser, GM, Egyptair Italy; second from right – Mr. M. Sultan Financial Director, Egyptair Italy / Photo © Mario Masciullo