Egypt has been intensifying its marketing strategies to showcase its wide array of tourist attractions amid economic difficulties arising from the Russia-Ukraine crisis and the Gaza war.
Most recently, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities launched a fresh two-month campaign themed “Egypt Alive 365”, which has been designed to display Egypt’s offerings to the Arab market, mainly during the summer season. The main goal of the drive is to lure more tourists into the country.
According to Amr El-Qadi, CEO of the Egyptian Tourism Authority, the campaign’s marketing materials offer a diverse range of tourist attractions, as vibrant destinations brimming with a plethora of activities for tourists to enjoy.
The promotional content of the campaign is being featured on major digital platforms in Arab nations such as Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter, Amazon, YouTube, Amadeus, Facebook, Gameloft, and Google Search, he said.
Additionally, the material is also accessible on platforms like Shahid and Watch IT, along with television channels in the countries where the campaign is ongoing.
The marketing strategy involves leveraging the advanced electronic reservation system WEGO, he noted.
This widely recognised search and booking platform in the Middle East aims to bolster direct bookings for tourist attractions in Egypt among Arab travellers through the summer season.
Egypt’s tourism industry has seen significant expansion, making it a top priority for the government over the recent years.
According to the Ministry, Egypt celebrated a milestone in the industry, hosting an unprecedented five million tourists in the first four months of 2024, marking the highest influx since 2010. Last year was also notable as Egypt achieved record-breaking numbers in tourist arrivals, visitor stays, and overall tourism earnings.
Cairo leads the way among Egyptian governorates in attracting the most tourists, followed by Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh, and Marsa Alam, according to the ministry. Hurghada, in the Red Sea governorate, saw four million tourists in 2023, while Sharm El Sheikh received three million.
Susan Moustafa, director general of promotion department at the Egyptian Tourism Authority, highlighted the authority’s new focus on digital campaigns. She pointed out that this change is a response to the increasing number of travellers who rely on the Internet for travel research and bookings.
In March, the ministry initiated a five-week campaign to boost Egyptian tourism during Ramadan. This promotional campaign targeted key Arab markets including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Jordan.
Mustafa said that the main objective of this campaign was to utilise the importance of the holy fasting month to spotlight Egypt’s exceptional tourism attractions and competitive advantage in the Arab market.
She added that the promotional content for the initiative included videos and short features created by well-known Arab and Egyptian influencers, bloggers, and content creators. These materials showcased the exclusive atmosphere of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr festivities in Egypt.
During the last winter season, the authority introduced the ‘Follow the Sun’ initiative in the Europe, the Middle East, and Africa region. The campaign was recognised as the Best Tourism Advertisement for May 2022 in the three regions.
Another successful campaign was the ‘Sunny Christmas’ Initiative, which reached an impressive 107 million users. It boosted online searches for Egypt on global search engines in the targeted markets by 95 per cent compared to 2020.
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