Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Tourism, held a conference yesterday evening to announce the launch of the new season of the documentary series on the secrets of ancient Egyptian civilization produced by Italy's Mediaset group of channels, the largest media broadcasting group in Italy, in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism, in the presence of Italian and Egyptian media. This comes as part of the promotional plan the ministry is pursuing through continuous communication with foreign media and cooperation with the largest, most important and credible international television channels.
These episodes will air on the program "Freedom Oltre Il Confine", presented by famous Italian presenter Roberto Giacobbo, one of the best-known presenters of the most widely watched travel programs in Italy, starting May 22. The programs feature world-renowned archaeologist Dr. Zahi Hawass, who takes viewers on a journey through time and place into the depths of ancient Egyptian civilization.
The event was attended by Eng. Ahmed Youssef, head of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority, Dr. Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and Khaled Abou Bakr, head of the Egyptian-Italian Business Council.
Also attending were the program's presenter, Roberto Giacobbo, and the crew, Giorgio Restelli, director of artistic production at Italy's Mediaset group, and Sebastiano Lombardi, director of Italy's Rete 4 channel, along with a delegation of representatives of Italy's best-known and best-selling daily newspapers, namely Corriere della Sera, Repubblica, Stampa, Giornale, Libero, Verità, Sole 24, Italia Oggi and Leggo, as well as Italy's leading news agency and the well-known weekly magazine Sorrisi e Canzoni. The Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority is hosting them in Egypt from May 10 to May 13 on a familiarization visit that includes the Giza Pyramids and the Sphinx, the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, Al-Muizz Street and Khan El-Khalili.
In her speech, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat noted that this week is an important week for promoting and boosting Egyptian tourism, as it began with the announcement of the partnership with CNN and today brings cooperation with Italy's Mediaset group of channels, stressing the importance of establishing multiple partnerships to reach all tourism markets.
She pointed to the great success achieved by the first season of the program on ancient Egyptian civilization, which aired in Italy in 12 episodes from December 28, 2018, to February 14, 2019. The episodes achieved the highest viewership ratings among the Italian official television channels RAI / MEDIASET, with viewership ranging from 1.5 million to 5 million views per episode, according to the Italian channel.
She added that in view of this success, it was agreed to record another series of episodes on Egypt comprising more than 13 new episodes, filmed in Aswan, Abu Simbel, Abydos in Sohag, Luxor, Giza and Saqqara from April 2 to 18.
Al-Mashat said this comes within the campaign to promote Egypt in Italy, one of the most important main source markets for tourism to Egypt, and contributes to increasing tourist arrivals from it, in addition to promoting the cultural tourism product that distinguishes the Egyptian tourist destination.
The Minister of Tourism explained that modern promotion mechanisms now rely on the story, the place and the people, not just the image, noting that tourists are looking to live a new experience.
She praised the continuous cooperation and support of the Ministry of Antiquities in contributing to the advancement of the tourism sector, the facilities it provides for filming at archaeological sites and its coordination with the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority, and commended the efforts of Dr. Zahi Hawass to elevate Egypt's image, as he is considered an Egyptian icon before the world.
Al-Mashat noted her participation in recording an interview for this program from the Grand Egyptian Museum as part of promoting the opening of the museum, GEM2020, which is considered one of the most prominent global cultural events.
In his speech, Dr. Zahi Hawass praised the Ministry of Tourism's cooperation with Italy's Mediaset group and with famous Italian presenter Roberto Giacobbo to promote Egyptian tourism in Italy, adding that the program enjoys wide fame: "There is no village in Italy that does not know Roberto Giacobbo." He stressed that this program will bring Italian tourism back to Egypt, pointing to the importance of the contract announced a few days ago with CNN.
Hawass said the recording of the program's episodes relies on adventure, making Italian viewers feel excitement and mystery and experience the secrets of ancient Egyptian civilization from inside the archaeological sites.
For his part, Italian presenter Roberto Giacobbo stressed the great success achieved by the program's first episodes on Egypt, and presented an introductory video about the program and what he has filmed in various countries. He also showed a film giving an overview of what the program's new season on Egypt will include, as well as part of the episode aired in the program's first season, filmed inside the Grand Egyptian Museum, in which he hosted Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Tourism, and which achieved great success with 2 million views.
He explained that given Italian viewers' growing desire to learn new secrets about ancient Egyptian civilization, the program has dedicated new segments on Egypt titled "Special Permits", filmed at archaeological sites unknown to tourists, such as the Osireion at the Temple of Abydos and the Osiris Shaft in the Pyramids area. The program also went down into a newly discovered tomb in Dra Abu El-Naga in Luxor, and entered the tomb of Tutankhamun's wet nurse in Saqqara and the tomb of the ambassador who wrote the terms of the peace treaty with the Hittites during the reign of Ramses II, noting that all of this will be broadcast exclusively and for the first time on Italian television.
In a related context, Eng. Ahmed Youssef, head of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority, said that such activities, which the authority carries out by hosting television channel delegations, contribute to promoting Egypt and increasing inbound tourist traffic, especially as the hosted media provide extensive coverage of the event.
For his part, Emad Fathy, former tourism counselor in Italy, explained that "Freedom Oltre Il Confine" is the most famous program in Italy and that the Mediaset group is the largest Italian media broadcasting group, founded by former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in 1987. He added that the program's presenter, Roberto Giacobbo, is one of the best-known presenters of the most widely watched travel programs in Italy and is considered one of the pillars of Italian television, and his book on Queen Hatshepsut, "La Donna Faraona", previously won a best-seller award in Italy.
He added that the episodes of the program's first season covered the latest archaeological discoveries in Egypt, such as the tomb of Mehu in Saqqara and the restoration of Khufu's second boat, and a special episode on the Holy Family's route in Egypt was aired on the occasion of the Christmas holidays.
He pointed to an episode on the secrets of the three Pyramids, whose guest was Dr. Zahi Hawass, in addition to an episode on the Battle of Kadesh, which is considered the first peace treaty in human history. The episodes concluded on February 14, for Valentine's Day, with a special episode on Queen Nefertari and the story of King Ramses II favoring her among his wives and building her a temple at Abu Simbel and a private tomb in the Valley of the Queens, considered one of the most beautiful Pharaonic tombs ever.
He noted that as a result of the great success of the first season's episodes, Italy's Focus channel, which specializes in scientific and archaeological discoveries, rebroadcast the episodes.
