El-Shaer: The Arbitration and Dispute Settlement Committee resolved 182 cases without resorting to the courts
Penalties for violating companies in the price dumping file reach license revocation if the violation is repeated
Hossam El-Shaer, chairman of the Egyptian Chamber of Tourism Companies, revealed that the Chamber succeeded in recovering EGP 29 million representing money owed to Egyptian tourism companies by foreign companies in the tourism markets that organize trips to Egypt, stressing that international companies have become committed to honoring all contracts with Egyptian companies, knowing that the Egyptian companies have a guardian able to protect their rights.
Speaking at the press conference held after the Chamber's general assembly meeting, El-Shaer pointed to the return of trip permits, which will eliminate the phenomenon of touts and brokers by the end of 2020, especially after the approval of a regulation organizing the permits, which has been applied in Hurghada, Sharm El-Sheikh and Luxor.
El-Shaer explained that the Chamber has made tangible achievements since creating the Arbitration and Dispute Settlement Committee for disputes between tourism companies, headed by Yousry El-Saoudi, a member of the Chamber's board, which has settled 182 disputes without resorting to the courts, saving considerable expenses in courts and other external committees, noting that the system set by the Chamber is characterized by ease of dealings and procedures and has therefore reduced the penalties imposed on companies.
Yousry El-Saoudi, head of the Chamber's Arbitration and Dispute Settlement Committee
The Chamber's chairman added that the number of companies penalized reached only 16 in 2019, compared with 270 companies in 2017 and 236 in 2018, which reflects the role of the Arbitration and Dispute Settlement Committee in avoiding reaching the penalty stage.
On another note, Hossam El-Shaer pointed to the drafting of a regulation to eliminate the phenomenon of price dumping, to be applied after receiving complaints from affected companies and conducting investigations to establish the actual cost of the tour program, with penalties imposed on violators starting with suspension of dealings with the Chamber for 6 months, and in case of repetition, referral of the company's file to the Ministry of Tourism to revoke its license in accordance with Article 9 of the law. This file is handled by a committee headed by Karim Mohsen, a member of the Chamber's board.
On another front, El-Shaer called for a swift return of promotional campaigns for Egyptian destinations, the use of international specialists, and the allocation of a large budget by the Tourism Promotion Authority to reopen its overseas offices, with a minimum of 10 offices responsible for the ten largest source markets for tourism to Egypt, while the remaining countries would be handled through Egypt-based offices affiliated with the authority, with the private sector training their staff and being responsible for their participation in international exhibitions.
In a related context, El-Shaer said that the Chamber has allocated its largest budget to support tourism companies' participation in international exhibitions and conferences to increase tourism growth, through the Chamber's participation with an entire pavilion for small companies, allowing them to hold business meetings with tourism companies from target markets at the Chamber's pavilion instead of bearing the burden of participating in the exhibition, with meeting appointments booked in coordination with the Chamber's administrative staff.
El-Shaer said that the Chamber is seeking solutions to the crisis of online companies, and stated that he will ask the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities to apply tax fairness to everyone, including companies that do not have a headquarters in Egypt, so that these companies do not negatively affect Egyptian tourism companies.
