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NORTH COAST OPENS TO FOREIGN TOURISTS

By Eman Wahby

For three months every summer, Egyptians flock to the string of villas and holiday villages that string the Mediterranean coastline for 450 kilometers from Alexandria to the Libyan border. For the remainder of the year, these properties and their gorgeous beaches lie vacant, a testament to ill-planned development.

Egyptians are reluctant to visit the so-called North Coast during the off-season, but European tourists – accustomed to a chilly arboreal climate – are likely to find these abandoned beaches ideal for swimming and sunbathing. In fact, tour companies are betting on it.

A new private-public partnership has emerged with the intent of developing sections of the North Coast into a year-round holiday destination. European tourists are key to the plan, which envisions the creation of a tourist complex and the launch of a scheduled charter air service between European capitals and Al-Alamein.

Ministry of Tourism spokeswoman Hala Al-Khatib says the master plan is to develop sections of the North Coast starting with the area around Ras Al-Hekma, 41 kilometers east of Marsa Matrouh. “We signed an agreement with Europe’s largest travel company, TUI, last September for the construction of five hotels with a capacity of 2,500 rooms,” she told Business Monthly. “The agreement with TUI means that tour operators will include this area in their packages,” she said, adding that TUI is partnering with Cairo-based tourism agency Travco in the construction of the complex.

The first hotel is expected to open by the end of the summer. Charter flights to the newly built Al-Alamein International Airport have already begun. The first flight, carrying 149 passengers from the UK, arrived on March 21, the same day the airport was inaugurated. Weekly charter flights between Italy and Al-Alamein are also scheduled. “Next June, Marsa Matrouh airport will be open for international flights. Then, the two international airports will be serving the North Coast,” says Al-Khatib.

Tourism is one of Egypt’s four major foreign-currency earners, along with oil revenues, Suez Canal receipts and remittances from expatriate workers. A record 8.1 million foreign tourists visited Egypt in 2004, generating $6.6 billion, a 43-percent increase over the previous year. Much of this increased traffic has come from Europe. TUI reported 161-percent growth in its Egypt-bound travel last year.

Despite its extensive development over the past two decades, the North Coast has never had much to offer foreign tourists. “Since the entire northwest coastline has been used as summer residential places for Egyptians, it lacks the major attractions for tourists such as entertainment, diving centers, hotels and restaurants,” explains Tarek Abbas, general manager of Cairo-based Sunrise Tours.

Until now, foreign tourism has largely been limited to the historic battlefields and war cemeteries near Al-Alamein. “The main attraction for tourists visiting Al-Alamein was the World War II museum and cemeteries, where thousands of relatives [of the war’s casualties] have visited and continue to visit the area,” Abbas added.

Swiss hospitality giant Mövenpick was the first and only international hotel chain to open a luxury hotel on the North Coast. The Mövenpick Resort & Spa Al-Alamein opened in Al-Alamein in April 2004 and will be the only specialized accommodation geared towards European tourists until the complex in Ras Al-Hekma opens later this year.

“The North Coast area enjoys spectacular natural sights with its blue crystal water and white sandy beach. Tourists can enjoy desert safaris, diving and can visit the World War II museum,” says Dina Awadeen, regional sales director at Mövenpick Egypt. “From Al-Alamein, tourists can head east for a trip to Alexandria or they can head south to the Western Desert oases. Italian and French tour operators are planning to include the area in their safari package between Egypt and Libya.”

The major drive for developing tourism in the North Coast will be to upgrade the infrastructure of the entire region. “The infrastructure of the area is very poor. We need to build more roads, hospitals, hotels, and various entertainment means to develop the area and make it a recognized tourism center like Hurghada and Sharm Al-Sheikh,” Abbas emphasizes. “The arrival of charters to Al-Alamein is just the beginning of a comprehensive plan to boost foreign tourism in such a beautiful and neglected area.”

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