Under the patronage of Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy will open the first edition of the "Al-Ahram Egyptian Tourism Forum" on Monday, 28 September. Organized by Al-Ahram as an annual platform for dialogue on the future of Egypt's tourism industry, the forum coincides with World Tourism Day, marked on 27 September each year.
The forum will be held at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat, in the presence of Minister of Civil Aviation Dr. Sameh El-Hefny and a number of ministers and officials; Eng. Abdel Sadek El-Shorbagy, chairman of the National Press Authority; Dr. Mohamed Fayez Farahat, chairman of the board of Al-Ahram; Maged Mounir, editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram newspaper; and a number of editors-in-chief, public and private sector leaders and experts, and representatives of the Egyptian Federation of Tourist Chambers and the heads of the tourist chambers. The forum is chaired by Al-Ahram journalist Amal Fawzy.
The launch of the forum is part of Al-Ahram's national role in supporting the Egyptian state's efforts to advance the tourism sector and achieve its targets, foremost among them reaching 30 million tourists, within the series of events and conferences the institution organizes to raise and discuss priority issues for the various economic and development sectors.
The first edition is held under the theme "Egyptian Tourism: From Destination Diversity to Global Competitiveness," in light of the unmatched diversity of Egypt's tourism assets and products and the growth the sector is seeing in inbound tourism, opening the way to discuss how to make the most of this diversity and turn it into a key driver of competitiveness and investment.
The forum includes 6 specialized panel sessions bringing together decision-makers, private sector representatives, experts and specialists to discuss the main challenges and opportunities facing the tourism industry and put forward practical visions and solutions that support the sector's growth and sustainability and raise the competitiveness of the Egyptian destination internationally.
The sessions cover a number of key topics, including turning the diversity of tourism assets and products into a competitive advantage and investment opportunities, developing human resources and raising the quality of services and the tourist experience, strengthening air connectivity, developing airports and improving access to tourist destinations, as well as ways to extend the beach tourism season and diversify its experiences, exploring growth and investment opportunities in new destinations and tourism types, and building the image of the Egyptian destination and strengthening its presence and competitiveness worldwide.
Through the discussions and recommendations of its sessions, the forum aims to strengthen dialogue and integration between the government, the private sector and the various players in the tourism industry, and to produce actionable visions that help drive growth and investment, improve the tourist experience and make the most of Egypt's diverse tourism assets.
