Al-Mashat: For the first time in 14 years, we announce an update of the hotel classification system to raise the competitiveness of the tourism sector
New types of accommodation added, including safari camps and eco-lodges, to keep pace with growing demand
UNWTO Secretary-General praises the Ministry of Tourism’s commitment to developing the sector in a responsible and sustainable way
Head of the Chamber of Hotel Establishments: Civil protection code applied to floating hotels for the first time
As part of the structural reform program for developing the tourism sector, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Tourism, announced this morning the new criteria for classifying Egyptian hotels, the New Hospitality Criteria, for the first time in 14 years, after updating them in cooperation with the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Chamber of Hotel Establishments.
Dr. Rania Al-Mashat said in her speech that Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly’s patronage of the conference announcing the new criteria for classifying Egyptian hotels is a continuation of the government’s support for the tourism sector and reflects the importance of applying the new criteria for Egyptian tourism.
The Minister of Tourism noted that since January 2018 the ministry has been working on a structural reform program for developing the tourism sector, which the ministry launched last November, to implement the ministry’s vision of achieving sustainable tourism development.
Al-Mashat stressed that updating the system of Egyptian hotel classification criteria is a cornerstone for raising the competitiveness of the tourism sector, improving the quality of the Egyptian tourism product, and upgrading the infrastructure of tourism establishments, especially hotels, to compete with their international counterparts.
She pointed out that for the first time new types of tourist accommodation have been added, aimed at attracting more tourists, in light of the changes in the tourism industry globally and the growing demand for such types, namely dahabiyas, eco-lodges, apartment hotels and boutique hotels.
She added that the previous criteria were also updated for fixed hotels, resorts, floating hotels, heritage hotels and camps, which included adding criteria for safari camps, taking into account the environmental dimension, as well as green hotel criteria and the use of clean energy technologies, helping to preserve the environment and protect natural and heritage assets.
She explained that after defining each of these types, special classification criteria were set for them, which will give the Ministry of Tourism the opportunity to carry out its oversight role over such establishments to ensure their efficiency and the quality of the services they provide.
The minister pointed out that the new classification criteria system is the result of several continuous months of effort and work by the Ministry of Tourism in cooperation with its private sector partners, represented by the Chamber of Hotel Establishments, along with fruitful cooperation with the World Tourism Organization, which nominated a number of international experts specialized in hotel classification, to produce criteria that keep pace with international hotels.
The minister stressed the ministry’s keenness to have an integrated system for the quality of hotel services, and noted that to draft the new criteria, many field visits were made to Egyptian hotels of different classifications in a number of tourist governorates to study their conditions and review the assessment of their classifications. She praised the success achieved by the work team in accomplishing this task.
She added that the importance of these criteria lies in the fact that applying them will enhance the price-value competitiveness of hotel stays, as the hotel’s distinction and the quality of the service it provides are a key factor in the tourist’s enjoyment of the visit and in encouraging repeat visits. She noted that hotel classification criteria in Egypt had not been updated since 2006 and were limited to the hotel’s fixed components, without regard to the style of service provided or environmental and health standards.
She referred to the ministry’s organization of training courses for inspectors of the Hotel Establishments Control Sector on the new criteria, delivered by experts from the World Tourism Organization, with 23 inspectors and 6 TOT trainers qualified to ensure the continuity of qualification and development, and trained to use a tablet manufactured specifically for this purpose, ensuring the evaluation process is completed with full integrity and transparency.
The Minister of Tourism stated that hotels will be given a grace period to adjust their status in line with these new criteria, out of support for these establishments and appreciation of the challenges they have faced over the past years.
During the conference, a video message by UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili was broadcast, in which he said: “On behalf of everyone at the World Tourism Organization, I offer my sincere congratulations to Egypt, which once again shows a commitment to developing the tourism sector in a responsible and sustainable way,” stressing that the new Egyptian hotel classification system will make the tourism sector more competitive and allow visitors planning their trips to better enjoy much of what Egypt has to offer.
For his part, Magued Fawzy, head of the Chamber of Hotels, said the announcement of the new criteria for classifying Egyptian hotels is an important, long-awaited step that will help raise the competitiveness of Egyptian hotels to keep pace with their international counterparts.
He noted that the Prime Minister’s patronage of this conference is a clear message of the government’s continuous support for the tourism sector, which drives work to advance the sector, one of the tributaries of the national economy, and to turn the challenges we face into opportunities that can be seized, praising the fruitful and continuous cooperation with the Minister of Tourism.
Fawzy announced the start of work under the new Egyptian code for protection against fire hazards, the “Civil Protection Code” for hotel establishments, adding that for the first time a decision has been issued including the Egyptian code of design principles and implementation requirements for protecting establishments from fire hazards specifically for floating units.
He explained that this came in line with the Prime Minister’s directives, as some provisions of the Egyptian code for fire protection for hotel establishments were amended. The philosophy of the amendment was to address requirements that are impossible or difficult to implement, as well as those that can be implemented through proposed alternatives that achieve the same goal.
He said hotel occupancy in recent years had not been high, and most hotel owners did not have the financial means to carry out the required maintenance or update technical systems to keep pace with international practice, adding that the Ministry of Tourism and the Chamber of Hotel Establishments agreed on a grace period for hotels to adjust their status in line with the new hotel classification criteria.
He noted that an official at the chamber will be assigned to respond to any inquiries submitted by hotels and provide the necessary support to ensure the application and success of these criteria.
He stressed that the Chamber of Hotel Establishments will spare no effort to provide what is needed to develop and upgrade the hotel industry in Egypt, and affirmed that the chamber always seeks to raise the level of the Egyptian tourism product to keep pace with international standards, which will in turn raise the price value of accommodation in Egyptian hotels.
