Attracting Tourists to Egypt

Holiday resorts usually have a set of good points around which they can market themselves to visitors. Every holidaymaker has their individual set of criteria by which they evaluate holiday destinations and even where warm, dry, sunny weather is almost guaranteed, they still needs to be some other additional benefit to differentiate those resorts from all the others. In Egypt hot sunny weather that continues for day after day, even in seasons where other locations have lost their warm days, is the main promotional highlight. There are hardly any times of the year when the Red Sea resorts of Egypt do not benefit from great holiday weather. But in Egypt, the hot weather is not enough, on its own, to bring in the tourists in their thousands.

Egypt is one of those unique locations that have a combination of features that make them almost unique and set them apart from all the other holiday destinations that are within geographical and financial reach of the huge tourist market of Europe. Warm dry weather is a feature of this region for almost the whole year round. The primary holiday destinations in Egypt for western tourists are Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada. Both are coastal resorts on the Red Sea and average daytime temperatures rarely drop below 25 degrees Celsius whatever the time of year. That makes them very popular destinations for European travellers seeking winter sun holidays, during the times when northern European weather can bring endless days of dull wet weather. Another feature of these Egyptian resorts is the quality of the hotels. The number and scale of luxury hotel complexes will impress any first-time visitor and they present a stark contrast to the landscape that surrounds them. Beyond the resort areas, the terrain quickly returns to empty desert scenery, which is fine for day trips, but not too interesting for tourists. The sea presents a much more rewarding opportunity and here the resorts provide a wide selection of water sports activities including one sport to which the region is particularly suitable. Scuba diving in the red Sea is very popular and just about every hotel in Sharm el Sheikh provides a dedicated dive school, which provides equipment for hire, different levels of instruction and a choice of dive trips to specific locations offshore. Reef and wreck dives in the warm waters of the Red Sea are ideal for attracting thousands of people to the region every year.

Other holiday destinations are familiar with tapping into the sports marketplace to attract their visitors. The Canary islands of Lanzarote, Tenerife and Gran Canaria are all favourites with athletes for early season training camps. The islands have some of the most highly developed sport facilities and with that marketplace still growing, new facilities are still being built. Winter sports are another activity that drives the tourism economy of many resorts. Ski resorts in France, Austria, Switzerland, {Italy and other countries benefit from geography and weather that brings hundreds of thousands of people to the slopes every year. The ski season lasts for between four and five months, starting before the Christmas period and extending to April depending on snowfall. These resorts have the dual benefit of a summer season which uses the landscape to attract those who enjoy the great outdoors. Sport is not a pastime that you would typically associate with Egypt, but where there is a connection the Egyptians are quick to take advantage. One sport in which Egypt is unusually successful is squash. The Egyptians currently provide three of the top four male players in world rankings and now also have a player in the top ten of the women’s rankings. Hurghada has used this sporting success to bring international sport to the resort. The Hurghada Challenge has brought top female squash players to the coastal resort for many years, with an all glass outdoor squash court being erected in the town centre, providing a unique environment for spectators and players alike. This year Sharm el Sheikh is seeking to duplicate that success by staging two international women’s squash competitions later this year. The Soho Square Squash Championship starts in late October and, at the end of November, squash returns to the resort with the Sharm El Sheikh Open.

So the tourist authorities in the Egyptian resorts are using a three-pronged approach to attracting visitors. Luxury hotels, sporting aspects and of course fantastic weather make the Egyptian resorts of Hurghada and Sharm el Sheikh priority destinations for many.