For the first time, the Egyptian pavilion offers virtual displays of antiquities replicas using the latest virtual reality technologies
Cultural seminars held at the Egyptian pavilion to shed light on the most prominent recent archaeological discoveries in Egypt
The Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority is taking part in the IFTM Top Resa 2025 international tourism fair, which kicked off yesterday in the French capital, Paris, and runs until September 25. The fair is one of the most prominent professional events in the European tourism market.
The Egyptian pavilion was opened by Ambassador Alaa Youssef, Egypt's Ambassador to France, and Eng. Ahmed Youssef, Assistant Minister of Tourism and Antiquities for Strategic Departments Affairs and Acting Head of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority, in the presence of representatives of the Egyptian delegation, including Ramy Nazmy, French market officer at the Western Europe Unit of the authority's General Department of Foreign Offices; Marian Helmy, member of the authority's General Department of Foreign Offices; and Nadia Hossam, member of the authority's General Department of Exhibitions and Events.
For his part, Eng. Ahmed Youssef noted that participating in this fair is a strategic step to strengthen Egypt's presence in the European tourism market, one of the most important source markets for tourism to Egypt, pointing out that the fair is a good platform for connecting with international industry partners and opening new horizons for joint tourism cooperation, as well as showcasing the tourism assets, products and types that Egypt abounds in and that meet the requirements and tastes of all tourists from around the world. This is in line with the ministry's strategy, which focuses on highlighting Egypt's unique diversity of multiple tourism products and types under the slogan "Egypt... Unmatched Diversity."
During the participation in the fair, Youssef held several professional meetings with a number of tour operators in the French market, during which they discussed future work plans to increase tourist flows from the French market to the Egyptian destination, especially with the official opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum approaching. These plans include launching joint promotional campaigns in the French market to promote the tourism products Egypt abounds in, among them eco, sports, adventure and spiritual tourism, among others, as well as new tourist destinations such as New Alamein City.
The head of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority also took part in a panel discussion held as part of the fair, with representatives of many of the countries participating in the fair, during which he addressed the most prominent challenges facing the tourism sector and ways to address them, in addition to reviewing the new projects at the top of the roadmap for achieving the goals of the New Republic.
He also gave a number of media interviews to representatives of French media outlets, during which he spoke about the ongoing developments in Egypt's tourism sector and the future plans and visions to achieve the state's target for inbound tourist traffic in the coming years.
In a first of its kind, and as part of the promotional activities at the fair, the Egyptian pavilion offered virtual displays of antiquities replicas using the latest virtual reality (VR) technologies, enabling visitors to simulate the archaeological experience and discover the beauty of the antiquities' fine details, which drew wide praise from attendees. A competition was also organized for guests of the Egyptian pavilion, with the winners receiving flight tickets to Egypt to discover the charm and beauty of the Egyptian destination.
Cultural seminars were also held at the Egyptian pavilion in cooperation with the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology. Dr. Islam Ezzat, an Egyptology researcher and specialist, gave a lecture on recent archaeological discoveries and the success of the Egyptian state's efforts to remove the archaeological site of Abu Mena Monastery in Alexandria from the List of World Heritage in Danger, following the lowering of the groundwater level and the implementation of the necessary restoration works, as announced by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in July 2025. Dr. Frédéric, head of the Tanis mission at San El-Hagar, also gave a lecture on excavation and restoration works at the Tanis site in Sharqia Governorate.
This year, the authority is participating in IFTM Top Resa with a 270-square-meter pavilion, a 20% increase over last year, due to growing demand from Egyptian companies and hotels to take part in the fair. The Egyptian pavilion includes 16 tourism companies and 12 Egyptian hotel establishments, in addition to 3 of Egypt's largest airlines.
It is worth noting that IFTM Top Resa mainly targets tourism industry professionals, including tour operators, hotel officials and airlines. It is held over a large area, making it an ideal platform for networking and forging professional partnerships. The fair has been held annually since 1978 and sees wide participation by senior officials and specialists in the tourism sector from around the world.
