Indian travellers flocking to Egypt
This year, the country known for its ancient civilisation and monuments, is expected to record a 19% growth in Indian tourists. Cruise Liners I Global tipping tips
By Neha Raghunath, ET Bureau |
MUMBAI: Indian travellers are flocking to Egypt. This year, the country known for its ancient civilisation and monuments, the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, is expected to record a 19% growth in Indian tourists, according to its tourism authority.
Samy Mahmoud, Tourism Counsellor with Egypt Tourism Authority (ETA) in India, told ET that the number of Indian tourists visiting Egypt is expected to touch the one lakh mark this year, against last year���s 84,000. Till May, nearly 30,000 Indians have visited Egypt, which is 18% more than last year���s figure.
ETA spent around $50,000 on promotional campaigns in India last year. In 2007, ETA appointed actor Celina Jaitely as brand ambassador for Egypt in India and has tie-up���s with 35 travel operators across the country.
Quoting a World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) report, which states that by 2020, around 25 million Indians will be travelling abroad, Mr Mahmoud said Egypt is hoping to attract more Indians. Visas for Indian tourists are processed within two days by the Egyptian Consulate in the city and the embassy in New Delhi. Indian tourists can also avail the emergency visa on arrival in Egypt.
In order to attract more tourists, ETA will promote Egypt���s beaches, resorts and golf courses this year since the country has more to offer than a visit to the great pyramids. ETA has also made presentations to Indian corporates to boost it���s MICE segment which currently makes up for 30% of its total tourism revenue.
Samy Mahmoud, Tourism Counsellor with Egypt Tourism Authority (ETA) in India, told ET that the number of Indian tourists visiting Egypt is expected to touch the one lakh mark this year, against last year���s 84,000. Till May, nearly 30,000 Indians have visited Egypt, which is 18% more than last year���s figure.
ETA spent around $50,000 on promotional campaigns in India last year. In 2007, ETA appointed actor Celina Jaitely as brand ambassador for Egypt in India and has tie-up���s with 35 travel operators across the country.
Quoting a World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) report, which states that by 2020, around 25 million Indians will be travelling abroad, Mr Mahmoud said Egypt is hoping to attract more Indians. Visas for Indian tourists are processed within two days by the Egyptian Consulate in the city and the embassy in New Delhi. Indian tourists can also avail the emergency visa on arrival in Egypt.
In order to attract more tourists, ETA will promote Egypt���s beaches, resorts and golf courses this year since the country has more to offer than a visit to the great pyramids. ETA has also made presentations to Indian corporates to boost it���s MICE segment which currently makes up for 30% of its total tourism revenue.
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Mercury Travels executive vice-chairman, Ashwini Kakkar said, ���Egypt is a complete destination with a rich cultural background. It is ideal for tourists who are bored of seeing places like Europe.���
SOTC COO, Sunil Gupta, said, ���Many tourism boards are seeing higher growth in tourism from India, with Egypt being one of them.��� Egypt attracted 11 million tourists last year with majority of them coming from the UK, Germany, Italy and France. Currently, South-East Asia has a 10% share in the country���s total tourist arrivals.
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