The second problem, according to Arab tourism experts, is the fierce competition between Egypt and other countries in attracting Arab travellers. There are now many countries that are successfully putting together competitive packages for Arab tourists. Do not only think of traditional competitors such as Lebanon and Turkey, but think of other unimaginable places, such as Orlando in the USA, Singapore, South Africa and Australia. When we have a tourist crisis and the number of tourists from Europe and the USA falls, we run to the Arab market and make promotions and discounts. When they start to come and our traditional European tourism market starts to recover, we forget about the Arabs.
Prices consequently get higher and promotions become less.
El-Beblawi pointed out the fact that a Kuwaiti newspaper last year published an advertisement of a travel agency that was promoting Egypt extensively. This year, the very same advertisement does not include Egypt at all but is including other countries such as Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates instead. Arab tourism experts stressed that there should be a better way of dealing with the Arab market. According to tourist officials, Egypt recently paid big attention to the Arab market. For example, in July and August, many events are organised especially for the Arabs, such as the Tourism and Shopping Festival offering tremendous discounts on many products and services as well as the Festival of the Arab song, which will take place next week.