Industry gathering sees grim tourism prospects
Published: 14/03/2011 at 12:00 AM
The 45th ITB, the world's largest travel trade show, began on an euphoric note with prominent appearances by tourism authorities of Tunisia and Egypt, and ended on a depressing note with the devastating tsunami in Japan and the prospects of soaring energy prices as a result of a wider conflict in oil-rich Libya.
It marked the end of a period of relative calm that allowed global tourism to make a strong recovery in 2010 and returned it to the possibility of facing yet another bleak year.
Before the tsunami hit, the mood was upbeat as Egypt and Tunisia brandished their newly democratic political credentials to make a strong pitch for a quick return of visitors. Their ministers appeared jointly at a press conference by the UN World Tourism Organisation to convey this message.
They noted that positive awareness of their countries is at an all-time high, and that the hotels and airlines, tourist sites and attractions, are all open for business. Both depend on Europe for a large percentage of their visitors and are seeking to reassure their tour operator and other partners that while much has changed, the tourism partnerships will remain in place.
The Egyptian media event was a particular hit. The press conference room, which can host about 120 people, was packed out and, for the first time that this editor has seen in 25 years of covering ITB, special video screens were set up outside to accommodate media.
All told, it was a far cry from the old days when Egyptian tourism was repeatedly on the defensive as it mounted recovery and crisis-management plans following terrorist attacks.
Both Tunisia and Egypt have made branding changes based on the new developments. Tunisia's tourism slogan now reads: "I Love Tunisia _ The Place To Be NOW" with the word "love" represented by a red heart symbol. Special stickers have been printed and pasted onto all the collateral brochures and publications being distributed at the Tunisian stand.
Egypt has buttressed the existing slogan, "Egypt _ Where It All Begins" with new slogans and branding images that refer to the peaceful revolution, the sense of public pride and energy. Some of them read, "The online revolution-made in Egypt", "TAHRIR _ a square that rocks the world" and "Welcome to the country of peaceful revolution".
A postal stamp has been printed commemorating the date Jan 25, 2011, when the revolution started. A special poster shows one of the prominent background buildings of Tahrir square with the words, "Tahrir Square, from Egypt with love".
The head of the Tunisian tourist office in Germany Saidi Mohammed said he was awaiting budgetary approval to restart the marketing and promotion campaigns in partnership with the German tour operators.
He made it clear that he would like to see the Germans do more on their own. "We have always helped them in the past with 50-50 partnerships. Now we want them to help us."
He said that although all the flights between Germany and Tunisia had been restored, he was not happy with yet another German government travel advisory.
At Egyptian Press conference, questions arose about the future of former businessmen associates of Gamal Mubarak, the son of ex-president Hosni Mubarak, and the military, both of which were known to have strong links to the travel and tourism industry.
Tourism Minister Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour did not mince any words. He said, "Gamal Mubarak was surrounded by cronies, not businessmen. There is a difference." He indicated that the military's involvement in business affairs would be downgraded so that it could relinquish power to a freely elected government and remain focused on its traditional role, viz., to defend the country. "As for the cronies, they are being investigated,"Abdel Nour said.
Credit: Bangkok Post (www.bangkokpost.com)
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