The Rise of the Individual Sustainable Tourist
We’ve all seen this person, and even at times, been them. The tourist armed with a camera, who takes pictures from arrival to take-off at each of their chosen destinations, shuttled from here to there in the comfort of a bus, getting a quick taste of a city or country by visiting its top sights.
This is tourism en masse - practical for those looking to quickly and easily explore the main attractions of a new country. The package deals tend to follow a pre-planned itinerary that focuses on the main highlights and must-sees. It offers a singular experience, which is the “classical” way of going about traveling, if we may call it, but with changing times and interests of the modern-day travelers, there is a need to adapt tourism offerings to new demand trends.
This has spurred the emergence of sustainable regenerative tourism, one that seeks to provide tourists with an in-depth experience of a country’s culture and heritage. Tourists essentially become travelers who like to get off the beaten paths, explore more unique destinations and get to interact first-hand with the local communities. This kind of tourism also seeks to preserve and improve a country’s heritage, environmental ecosystem and local communities.
Regenerative Tourism in Egypt: The Untapped Potential of Cultural Heritage
How then can a tourist, traveling alone or in a group, live like a local during their brief stay? The answer lies in bringing history to life, providing opportunities for tourists to engage first-hand with communities, to be guided by them, to explore unexpected sites, and to understand how different customs throughout the years have influenced contemporary traditions. This can be achieved by reviving historic sites so that they are no longer viewed from behind a glass wall, but rather experienced first-hand, giving visitors a chance to walk the same steps that others walked centuries before them.
Effective restoration is more than rehabilitating a site; it is transforming heritage sites into active and sustainable landmarks. Once a private home, a house can become a boutique hotel, letting travelers live in Cairo’s old streets. Other potential transformations are that of an exhibition center, an event space, or even a café, housed in unique heritage sites. Each of these options revives a building’s function or re-adapts it, allowing visitors to carve out their own experiences according to their interests. By adapting and reusing sites, they are less likely to deteriorate because they will be constantly maintained to ensure their longevity. This can be of benefit to governments, who are owners and custodians of such sites, as such sites will come alive in their communities, generating both local and global interest and income.
Local Success Stories of Private Sector Engagement in Cultural Heritage
In partnership with the private sector, Egypt is currently witnessing the growth of effective adaptive reuse across many of its heritage sites and landmarks. The Giza Plateau is a prime example of re-imagining a historical site for present-day use. Orascom Investment Holding sought to establish the Giza Pyramids as a world-class, year-long tourist destination with a positive visitor experience. This has entailed the establishment of a visitor center, a full-fledged transportation system, art exhibitions, world-class food and beverage outlets, a tech-enabled ticketing system and a year-long schedule of events. In partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Orascom is transforming the Giza Plateau to renew visitors’ experience of a centuries-old site.
Another prime example for private sector engagement within the tourism industry is the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), which is Egypt’s most anticipated new archaeological museum, expected to house more than 50,000 ancient Egyptian artifacts. The museum is managed and operated by Legacy for Management & Development, a Hassan Allam subsidiary, in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Multiple other case studies continue to unfold across Egypt’s heritage sites and landmarks. There is growing interest from community-based and private sector investors to adapt, reuse and operate cultural heritage assets. The Egyptian government is eager to engage with the private sector to create mutually beneficial models, especially within cultural heritage tourism, where there is room for more investments that can further uplift the Egyptian brand globally. Such models not only create a desirable image for the Egypt brand but can also create more jobs for local communities and unlock different revenue streams.
Partnerships for Cultural Heritage Tourism: The Integrated Management of Cultural Tourism Project
Enabling effective site rehabilitation and adaptive reuse was at the heart of the USAID-Funded Integrated Management of Cultural Tourism (IMCT) project. A team led by FHI360 Solutions, and in partnership with CID Consulting and Takween for Integrated Community Development, among others, addressed current global trends towards more experiential and authentic travel. Aiming to attract greater local and foreign tourist traffic to strategic heritage locations, the project worked with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to lay the foundation for a more sustainable cultural tourism management approach. Selecting sites across two locations, Historic Cairo and Luxor, the team assessed their financial sustainability and examined their potential uses for operators.
The role of the private sector is critical in enabling sustainable tourism practices and operations. One of the primary objectives of IMCT was fostering partnerships for the private sector to be involved in cultural heritage tourism through investment in, and operation of, unique sites. This topic was explored in an event hosted by the project in collaboration with the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt this year in June 2024 titled Unlocking Business Opportunities Within Egypt’s Cultural Heritage Tourism. It was a chance to discuss opportunities and challenges in cultural heritage tourism and learn from international best practices as well as successful local entrepreneurial endeavors in the sector. Throughout the day, industry experts from both public and private sectors offered their insights into trends in cultural heritage tourism and encouraged strategic and novel investment in the sector, while also examining policies that can be implemented to support further partnerships.
Throughout discussions, there was a clear consensus: collaboration between industries, as well as public and private sectors is key to achieving a common goal - that of accelerating Egypt’s tourism growth and offering experiences unique to the country’s history and culture. Bringing in know-how and investment, the private sector’s willingness to take risks is needed in a volatile industry such as tourism. The public sector’s ability to influence legislation, set standards for sustainability and facilitate the processes for investors and operators alike is necessary for the success of the industry. In fact, in the IMCT project, the team sought to support the establishment of public private partnerships within the cultural tourism sector. This meant exploring incentives for the private sector to invest in and manage cultural sites in Historic Cairo or Luxor, as well as equipping the ministry with the tools and mechanisms that would enable mutually beneficial private sector engagement.
With the rise of sustainable regenerative tourism across the globe and Egypt’s growing investment in cultural heritage, we look forward to seeing more travelers associating with a strong brand for Egypt and getting a real taste of Egyptian heritage.