The legacy of the pharaohs defends Egyptian tourism from the plagues of the 21st century

Cairo, Oct 3 (EFE).- Ramses II, the same one who suffered the ten plagues described in the Bible, welcomes tourists who visit Egypt today, in the form of a 12-meter-high sculpture. a country full of attractions but cornered by new plagues.

The impressive 3,200-year-old statue was moved six years ago to the Giza plateau, near the pyramids, where its monumental presence seems to tell tourists that all the treasures of Ancient Egypt are at their disposal.

A generous legacy, highly competitive in the global tourism market, which should allow Egypt to double the number of tourists in four years and increase the percentage of visitors by 20% in 2024 compared to the previous year, as announced by the Egyptian Government in 2023.

But the Gaza conflict first and its regional extension later have forced expectations to be reduced, as the general director of the Egyptian Tourism Authority, Mohamed Atta Elsherbeiny, acknowledged to EFE.

GUIZA (EGYPT), 10/03/2024.- Egyptian tourism has plenty of attractions but is threatened by the plagues of the 21st century, including the war between its neighbors Israel and Palestine and the economic crisis. EFE/Rosa Díaz
. EFE/Rosa Díaz

Expectations are reduced, but tourism continues to grow

“The war in Gaza has affected our growth expectations, which have gone from 20% this year compared to the previous year to 5%,” said Elsherbeiny, who still considers that “the figures are good” and “they will not go below that.” 5% because the war is far away.

The manager of the Grand Museum of Egypt, Merette Elsayed, is more pessimistic and believes that the last quarter of the year may be worse than expected, especially with regard to tourism from other continents.

“It is possible that the escalation of the war will cause cancellations,” Elsayed told EFE. There are tourists from certain countries, like Americans, who think that the entire area is in danger, they do not realize that the war is far from Giza.

A safe country for tourists, despite its conflictive borders

War is one of the plagues that plague Egyptian tourism in the 21st century. Not only have the war in Gaza and its regional escalation lowered business prospects, but previously the war in Ukraine was already a hard blow for the profitable Russian Red Sea vacationer.

As the president of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, recently recalled, all of Egypt’s borders are “insecure”, since the country, which hosts more than nine million refugees, borders to the south with Sudan, which has been at war for a year. year, to the west Libya, with more than ten years of conflict, and to the east Israel and Gaza.

Even so, traveling to Egypt remains safe because, according to the general director of the Egyptian Tourism Authority, the Government “is very strict with its borders” and the police presence is clearly visible in tourist areas.

A security that travelers from nearby countries trust, but that is less evident for European and American visitors.

As Elsayed points out, tourism in its sector is “very sensitive” to any instability and the wars surrounding Egypt can harm this important source of foreign currency.

The other is the Suez Canal, which is also not billing what it should since the Houthis began their attacks in the Red Sea and some ships changed routes.

To the plagues of wars and economic crises we must add others that Egypt has suffered in the 21st century and that have directly hit tourism, such as covid, corruption or the Arab Spring revolts.

However, Egypt has managed to overcome all of them thanks to the treasures of the pharaohs and the perseverance of the Government that defends with cloak and sword this “important tourist industry that helps absorb the enormous amount of the country’s workforce,” according to Elsherbeiny.

Other treasures have also favored the comeback, such as Ras El-Hikma, a peninsula for which the United Arab Emirates has paid 35,000 million dollars in exchange for having 170 million square meters and 50 kilometers of beaches on which to build a large tourist city. .

Without a doubt, the treasures of Egypt are incalculable and, although the plagues of the 21st century can be very harmful, for the moment Ramses II continues to stand, welcoming 15 million tourists annually.

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