Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly today witnessed the signing of a cooperation protocol between the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Education and Technical Education on spreading tourism awareness and tourism ethics among school students, as part of strengthening the state's efforts and the political leadership's interest in consolidating the principles of tourism awareness and spreading tourism ethics among all segments of Egyptian society, so that they understand the importance of the tourism sector and its role in supporting the national economy and creating new job opportunities.
The protocol was signed by Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Tourism, and Dr. Tarek Shawki, Minister of Education and Technical Education. The protocol aims to enhance joint cooperation between the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Education and Technical Education to raise awareness of the importance of tourism and introduce its ethics among school students at the various educational stages, which will contribute to creating Egyptian generations that are aware of the vital role of the tourism sector and its role in the revival of the Egyptian economy, and that are capable of improving the image of the Egyptian tourist destination locally and internationally.
The protocol also aims to encourage avoiding negative behavior toward tourists and adopting positive ethics and values in dealing with them, and to instill the values of a culture of accepting and respecting others among young people at the kindergarten and basic education stages, in order to create a positive impression among tourists that encourages them to repeat their visits to Egypt.
This is in addition to investing in education and training in the fields of tourism, in order to create generations and cadres who can work in tourism and who have a good understanding and grasp of the fundamentals of the tourism profession and the art of dealing with tourists.
For her part, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat expressed her happiness at the signing of this protocol, which comes as part of the Ministry of Tourism's keenness to increase public awareness of the importance of the tourism sector and to work on applying tourism ethics, especially among future generations, in light of the ministry's interest in raising the efficiency of the human element in the sector by improving the level of service provided to increase the competitiveness of the tourism product and by linking educational curricula to labor market needs, which is included in the institutional reform pillar of the structural reform program for developing the tourism sector.
The Minister of Tourism pointed out that this protocol will help motivate students to learn more about the field of tourism and create a passion in them to work in the sector later on, which is in line with the broader goal of the structural reform program for developing the tourism sector, namely employing at least one member of every Egyptian family in the tourism sector and related activities.
The minister explained that this protocol is also consistent with the fourth of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which the ministry has adopted for application in the tourism sector, as this goal focuses on ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting learning opportunities by providing a well-trained workforce with skills that enhance the quality of services.
The minister stressed the importance of teaching tourism ethics and how to deal with tourists, given their extremely important impact on forming a positive image of the Egyptian tourist destination, which contributes to increasing the sector's competitiveness.
The minister added that Egypt was among the countries that signed the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism in 2014, which was adopted by the 22nd General Assembly of the UNWTO held in China in 2017. Tourism ethics are considered the basic frame of reference for sustainable and responsible tourism, as the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism represents a comprehensive set of principles designed to guide decision-makers and those in charge of the industry in developing tourism. It is addressed to governments, the tourism sector, communities and tourists alike, and aims to help increase the sector's revenues and reduce its negative impact on the environment, cultural heritage and communities around the world.
For his part, Dr. Tarek Shawki, Minister of Education and Technical Education, expressed his happiness at the fruitful and constructive cooperation between the Ministry of Education and Technical Education and the Ministry of Tourism, which resulted in the signing of this protocol aimed at spreading tourism awareness and promoting tourism ethics among school students.
Dr. Tarek Shawki also pointed out that these ethics, which we are all working to make the way tourists coming to Egypt are treated, will boost the chances of increasing the flow of tourists to Egypt from various countries around the world, in addition to preparing generations with a degree of tourism awareness who are able to work in and advance the tourism industry in Egypt, by including tourism ethics concepts in the basic education curricula, activating competitions and activities for students aimed at raising awareness of the importance of tourism and preserving tourist and heritage sites, establishing applied technology schools specializing in hospitality, updating technical, hotel and tourism education curricula, and providing specialists and experts in hospitality and tourism to evaluate students and teachers.
The Minister of Education and Technical Education thanked the Ministry of Tourism and its leaders for their efforts in preparing and signing this protocol, expressing hope that this cooperation will be a model for cooperation with other ministries, authorities and institutions.
Under this protocol, the Ministry of Tourism will communicate with the private sector to sponsor competitions in which school students take part.
The Ministry of Education and Technical Education will include a tourism ethics subject in the basic education curricula and activate the "Tourism Ambassador" competition for school students in the governorates in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism, with the aim of raising students' awareness of the importance of tourism and preserving the tourist and heritage sites in their governorates.
The protocol also provides for cooperation between the two ministries in technical education and vocational training, by working to convert some hotel technical schools into applied technology schools in cooperation with the private sector, and encouraging the private sector to support hotel technical schools in training and curriculum development.
Dr. Rania Al-Mashat had met Dr. Tarek Shawki last August to agree on frameworks for cooperation between the two ministries by forming a joint committee from the two ministries and preparing a cooperation protocol between them to implement the agreed areas of cooperation.
It is worth noting that the Minister of Tourism met international expert Pascal Lamy, Chairman of the World Committee on Tourism Ethics and former Director-General of the World Trade Organization, to discuss ways of applying the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism. The meeting came as part of the ministry's plan to engage with international expertise and institutions to benefit from this global expertise in advancing the tourism sector.
