|
Seminar held by the Cooperation for Development Office of
the Italian Embassy in Egypt
27th September 2005
 The
Seminar has been tailored to connect, in a logical framework, the multiple
activities implemented by the
Egyptian - Italian Environmental Cooperation Programme
and other related initiatives carried out by Italian NGOs,
Debt for Swap projects and decentralized cooperation
(projects financed by Italian local authorities- Regioni) in the so called
“Other Egypt” (Wady El Rayan and Fayoum Oasis, Siwa Oasis, North Coast,
Marsa Alam-Red Sea Governorate).
The
Seminar's main target was to present the "Other Egypt" as an integrated
tourist context, including different geographic areas, yet joined together
by the presence of cultural, human, environmental and historical heritage
which can provide a rich background in terms of tourist offers for
sensitive travelers.
The following areas of
intervention have been the core discussion of the Seminar:
-
sustainable environmental practices aimed at the
promotion of environmental and cultural heritage and archaeological
sites;
-
preservation and promotion of historical,
architectural and archaeological heritage by highlighting new tourist
routes;
-
support of handicraft and local food production,
marketing promotion
-
support and promotion of responsible tourism
The
Seminar's Agenda included twelve panellists. Among them
representatives of Egyptian and Italian Institutional bodies, Italian NGOs
representatives and Chairman of Italian Responsible Tourist Association.
They provided, thanks to their contributions, precious stimulus for
discussion and in particular, they have brought to attention, for each
field of intervention, the following considerations:
1.
Environment
The path of development has to be in
conjunction with the preservation and conservation of the environment.
Management and preservation of natural resources is the responsibility of
the system as a whole, and it is dependent upon the successful
implementation and enforcement of more integrated strategies that must be
planned if the environment is to be sustained for future generations.
Involvement of local communities is sine qua non to the achievement
of the above-mentioned goals.
2. Cultural, Archaeological and
Historical heritage preservation and promotion
Necessity of "connecting the dots" among
institutional bodies in order to provide an effective plan of action to
enhance the inclusion of the archaeological sites, located in the
considered areas, in tourist itineraries. It as been presented, as best
practice, the pilot project concerning the "Institutional Support to the
Supreme Council of Antiquities for Environmental Monitoring and Management
of Cultural Heritage Sites: application to Fayoum Oasis and North Saqqara
Necropolis (ISSEMM)" financed by the Italian government.
3. Cultural heritage and traditional
handicrafts
Preserving ancient traditions, supporting the
production and promotion of traditional handicrafts can guarantee a real
and significant degree of local communities empowerment.
4.
Tourism and
responsible tourism development
Tourism contributed to the Egyptian Economy
with over 6 billions dollars in 2004, with over 8 million visitors, which
represent an increase of 35% versus 2003. Comparing Egyptian figures to
international standards, we can see that WTO average growth rate is 4%
while in Egypt has been of 10%. In light of those results and of the
ambitious Government's plan to bring, in the coming 10 years, the number
of visitors to 18 million it is necessary to consider and plan a serious
and effective policy for the promotion and enhancement of responsible
tourism. In this framework, the example provided by the integrated
development project for responsible tourism promotion implemented in
Fayoum by the Italian Cooperation for Development and the Italian NGO
CISS
is definitely one of the best examples to be followed. Moreover, the
number of Protected Area in Egypt (nowadays 24 and expected to be 40 by
2017) is a solid ground on which a significant development plan for
sustainable and responsible tourism could be set up. In this context of
action, responsible tourism has been pointed to as a very effective tool
to fight poverty.
 The
combined analysis of the above-mentioned topics and activities has
highlighted the numerous potential ways of development in terms of
social and economic growth thanks to a sustainable policy related to
responsible tourism activities.
To this
end, cross theme to all topics has been in fact the responsible tourism.
All participants underlined the fact that successful ecotourism practices
require inter-sectoral alliances, comprehension, and respect and above
all, they must include local participation and foster conservation
efforts.
Conclusions and recommendations
Therefore,
the final remarks focused on the necessity of:
1.
Scheduling activities of coordination and exchange among
national, regional, communities' representatives, public and private
tourism partners focused to the promotion and management of
the new tourist districts.
2.
Setting up guidelines to enable the principal actors
involved to carry out their activities within a synergic and integrated
approach in order to achieve objectives.
3.
Stepping forward from the stage of simply listing the potentialities
of the "Other Egypt" to a more operative stage where,
through a holistic participation of those working toward ecotourism, a set
of offers related to responsible travels could be presented and
launched in the Italian and International market. |
