Unprecedented Japanese turnout at the Egyptian tourism roadshow events, and a promising atmosphere for an active tourist season
By Akram Medhat
The Egyptian tourism roadshow in Japan, organized on the sidelines of the Tourism Expo Japan fair, concluded last week. It covered 3 Japanese cities, Nagoya, Osaka and the capital Tokyo, with the participation of a number of Egyptian tourism companies as well as EgyptAir, under the sponsorship of the Egyptian Embassy in Tokyo and the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA).
The roadshow saw an unprecedented turnout, as the number of visitors from Japanese tourism companies and media in the three cities exceeded the target of 180 invitees, with the actual number of visitors reaching about 220 invitees, a positive indicator of the Japanese market's renewed interest in the Egyptian tourist destination.
For their part, JATA representatives in the three cities called on members to step up their sales of Egypt in the coming period, and expressed their confidence that the Egyptian destination will regain its deserved position in the Japanese market.
In a related context, Minister Plenipotentiary Hatem El-Nashar, chargé d'affaires of the Egyptian Embassy in Tokyo, expressed his confidence in the recovery of tourist traffic from the market in the coming period, especially with the return of EgyptAir's scheduled route between the two countries.
On the other hand, Ismail Abdel Hamid, Egyptian Tourism Counselor in India, who supervises the Japanese market, reviewed developments in the security and political situation in Egypt and their positive impact on the surge in traffic from the market during the first half of this year, pointing to the importance of EgyptAir's resumption of flights to Japan and the significance of the decision, which confirms the Egyptian side's confidence in indicators of improving demand from the Japanese.
Abdel Hamid proposed a number of alternative tour programs that Japanese companies can offer the public, stressing the need to move beyond the narrow scope of classic trips that target a limited segment of Japanese tourists. He presented the main lines of the action plan in the Japanese market in the coming phase and the opportunities for cooperation in joint promotion with Japanese companies.
The roadshow events also included presentations by the participating companies. EgyptAir revealed its ambitious plans to increase the number of flights in the coming period, as well as the operation of the new aircraft and its specifications, while Egyptian tourism companies presented general information about the Egyptian destination and the programs on offer, in addition to each company's strengths and the services it provides to its customers.
Abdel Hamid explained that this roadshow is part of a series of intensive professional and consumer events and activities approved by the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority to bring about a leap in demand for Egypt from the Japanese market, especially after the resumption of direct flights between the two countries by EgyptAir, whose first flight takes off at the end of October this month.
According to tourism statistics obtained exclusively by "Travel Yalla News", Japanese tourist arrivals to Egypt reached 21,000 tourists from January to August 2017, up 106% compared with the same period last year, and they spent 135,000 tourist nights, an increase of 109%.
It is worth noting that Egypt took part in the round-table meetings of tourism ministers held by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in the Japanese capital, Tokyo, on the sidelines of the JATA EXPO fair, held from September 21 to 24, one of the largest international tourism fairs. Egypt was represented by Dr. Adela Ragab, Deputy Minister of Tourism, and also took part in the fair with a pavilion that included a number of tourism companies and EgyptAir, designed in a Pharaonic style reflecting the ancient Egyptian civilization.
