One of the best destinations, and tourists do not want to return to it.. Egypt between Time magazine and Reddit

Cairo - In a remarkable coincidence, the American magazine "Time" chose the Egyptian capital, Cairo, among the list of the 100 best places to visit in 2021, at a time when Egypt topped the choices of visitors to the "Reddit" website. Famous about the country you never want to visit again due to tourist exploitation and sexual harassment.

The "Time" report and the "Reddit" poll sparked widespread controversy on social media in Egypt, where a group of commentators chose to praise the American magazine's report and downplay the value and importance of what was stated in "Reddit", while another team went to confirm the validity of what It came in "Reddit", and the need to take advantage of it to fix and remedy the negatives.

The choice of "Time"

The American magazine "Time" - which placed Cairo among the top 100 exceptional destinations in the world that invites you to visit it during 2021 - said in a topic in its latest issue that it chose these destinations based on nominations from my correspondents. The magazine is from around the world, with a focus on those who bring new and exciting experiences.

As for the choice of Cairo specifically, it came - according to the magazine - due to the imminent opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, the largest archaeological museum in the world, and the approaching completion of the construction of the People of Egypt Walk on the Nile Corniche, in addition to the "Cairo Eye" project. ), which will be the largest ferris wheel in Egypt and Africa, in addition to the presence of a number of high-level hospitality hotels.

This is the third year that Time magazine has prepared a list of the best places in the world, which the magazine did in honor of those in charge of the tourism and travel industry who were able, amid exceptional circumstances, to adapt, build and innovate, in addition to highlighting creativity, revitalization and promotion of destinations in the whole world.

Optimal utilization

For his part, Hossam Hazaa, a member of the Egyptian Federation of Tourist Chambers, said that the choice of “Time” is due to the security and safety of Egypt’s tourist destination, especially with regard to the precautionary measures that Egypt took of all kinds during the Corona pandemic. This was reported by the tourists who visited it during 2020 and 2021, especially in South Sinai and the Red Sea.

On the best way to exploit this event, Hazaa demanded, in statements to the Egyptian satellite channel "Extra News", to increase media campaigns for countries abroad through communication sites, Google, or television advertisements, pointing to the Ministry of Tourism's contract with specific institutions to establish and manage these campaigns. refresher.

Reddit's dilemma

In contrast to what was reflected in the choice of "Time" regarding the boom in tourism in Egypt, the famous "Reddit" site asked its visitors last Sunday about the countries they visited and decided never to return to, and Egypt was the most visited country. Existing in the survey, which was attended by tens of thousands of visitors to the site.

A large number of respondents to the "Reddit" survey explained the reason behind choosing Egypt by recounting their experiences of sexual harassment, theft and exploitation from sellers, especially in the area of ​​the Giza pyramids and Cairo's museums and monuments.

A number of social media pioneers in Egypt - including tourism workers - endorsed what was stated in the "Reddit" referendum, calling on those responsible for tourism not to bury their heads in the sand and deal with it seriously, while a number of them questioned the value of the "Reddit" site and what In it, they echoed the charge that had circulated in recent years of accusing the Muslim Brotherhood and considering it to be behind exaggerating the matter, as they said, and stressing that the "Time" report came at the perfect time to reveal the truth.

Tourism is recovering

In the meantime, the CEO of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority, Ahmed Youssef, said that the Egyptian tourism sector has recovered by 40%, amid the implementation of precautionary measures related to Corona, expecting more recovery after more countries By lifting the closure and the travel ban.

Youssef said - in an interview with Xinhua News Agency - that Egypt was one of the first countries to open its doors to tourism in April 2020, amid the application of very good precautionary measures against the Corona epidemic in hotels, airports, flights, museums, tourist facilities and archaeological sites.

In May 2020, Egypt opened domestic tourism with a hotel occupancy rate of 25%, then gradually raised the percentage to 50%, and then opened its doors to foreign tourism, starting from the first of July 2020.

It is noteworthy that the tourism industry represents one of the pillars of the Egyptian economy, as it contributes 11.3% of the total national income and provides 19.3% of the total foreign exchange earnings. The percentage of workers in the tourism sector is 12.6% of the total labor force in Egypt, according to the General Authority for Development. Egyptian tourism.