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Within the framework of its Promotional campaign in the Arab region, Egyptian Tourism Authority (ETA) attended on May 2009 the Arab Forum (ATM) held in the UAE and the(BITE) in Bahrain as well as the (MIT) in Tunisia. The Authority at every event paid the tickets ' value and visas' fees for its official delegation along with dozens of media figures , folk art brand members numbered in 18, and the artistic team accompanying the singer apart from paying the five star – accommodation and transportation costs for them and buying gifts for VIPs.
It furthermore paid the press conference's cost , reception parties , Egyptian nights and travel allowances for the government delegation and consequently Tourism Fund paid $ 100 pocket money per day for officials , media figures and artists accompanying ETA.
With all that random waste of public money, we find the number of Arab tourists visiting Egypt at the end of 2009 decreased by 3,9% compared to the previous year, and most specifically Emirati tourists decreased by 7,4% , Bahraini tourists by 9,2% in addition to the two largest Arab tourism – exporting markets Saudi Arabia 13,5% and Libya 14,8% . Now the question is , is it reasonable for tourism officials to keep on attributing the decline in Arab tourists coming to Egypt to the global financial crisis? And why we never admit our faults or even learn from them?
Why officials at that vital sector look at the Tunisian Experiment in attracting Libyan tourists ten times more than tourists coming to us from the same country despite global financial crisis? Studies and Strategies that are most aware of mechanisms and requirements of Arab tourism market must be assigned to tourism specialists and professionals instead of amateurs whose main concern is to make the best use of their posts to serve nobody except themselves.
Where the professional marketing mind when $ 135,000 is disbursed for JWT Co for marketing studies in the Arab region and $ 28,000 to the same company to measure the success of Ramadan campaign in one year and then we got this deplorable result?!
From the unreasonable decisions to the continuity of public funds waste in Egyptian Tourism Authority whose overseas tourist offices' heads who insist on holding tourist events with the utmost extravagance and luxury as done by Egypt's tourist office former head in Vienna Nabila Banhawi who ,with the consent of The ETA Chairman , hold a celebration in Budapest on March 26 at a cost of 23200 Euros ( 172 thousand and 977 thousand pounds Egyptian) .
Moreover, Vienna-based new office director officially appealed to the president of the financial and administrative sector of ETA so as to keep herself away from any legal responsibility for the disappearance of four advertising bills, and rental payment receipt totaling up to more than 20000 euros (150 thousand Egyptian pounds as well as finance settlements of more than 65000 euros, (500 thousand Egyptian pounds) .
And from overseas tourist offices to indifferent domestic tourism officials represented , to mention but a few, by head of domestic tourism Ms. Nariman Hassan whose main concern is to achieve personal interests within the last years of her work at ETA . One of Ms Hassan 's farces occurred in March 6 , 2009 when she set up a dinner party in Mohamed Ali Palace for 300 from the heads of Constitutional Courts and other dignitaries at a total cost of 200 thousand Egyptian pounds and another reception party for 150 persons at one of the luxurious hotels at a cost of 70 thousand Egyptian pounds .The aim of two extravagant parties were to distribute tourist leaflets, propaganda, and distinguished guests to celebrate the among guests and the commemoration of the 40 anniversary of the establishment of the Egyptian Constitutional Jurisdiction!!!
As for International Tourist Relations the matter was not better. Director-General of ITR Mohammed Amin, presented on 7/4/2009 a note containing conflicting data to Chairman of the Authority Amr Al-Ezaby asking for his approval for hosting the Togolese Tourism Minister along with his two persons accompanying him during the period from 25 / 4 to 29 / 4 / 2009 at hotels in Cairo and Alexandria in return for a sum estimated at 41 thousand and five hundred Egyptian pounds and then he mentioned, under the facts of the matter item, in the same note that accommodation will be from 6 / 1 to 9/1/2007!!!!
Out of random planning to activate new tourism patterns in different markets, head of the International Tourism Samy Mahmoud asked Al-Ezaby on 29/10/2009 for the Subscription with TUI Travel Co with a sum of 15 thousand sterling pounds (130 thousand Egyptian pounds) in research and preparation of marketing reports relating adventure tourism.
Last but not least, the approval of ETA's chairman on August 12, 2009 to increase the amount of interim advance from 10 thousands to three times for a reception party for the Egyptian adventurer Hisham Nasim and put his car "Land Rover" in the Egyptian pavilion at Dubai Adventures exhibition held from 19-21 December last year under the pretext of promoting desert tourism!!!
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