Al-Mashat Devalues Any Slowdown Related to Thomas Cook

Tourism Minister Dr. Rania Al-Mashat said any slowdown related to the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook will be extremely small, and other competitors will alleviate it. 

In an interview with Hotelier Middle East, Al-Mashat believed that the closure of Thomas Cook didn't harm Egypt, saying: "We are witnessing increased interest from other tour operators to pick up the Thomas Cook business." 

"Thomas Cook, like any other company globally is liable to business dips. The company’s business in Egypt as well as in other countries is being picked up by other tourist operators," Al-Mashat noted. 

Speaking about the Egypt-Tourism Reform Program (E-TRP), the tourism minister underscored that E-TRP is a multi-dimensional program that seeks to create a sustainable tourism sector and increase competitiveness by adopting international standards. 

[caption id="attachment_93113" align="aligncenter" width="768"] Tourism Minister Dr. Rania Al-Mashat[/caption]

"The implementation of all the pillars of reform within E-TRP is dynamic, not static and it takes into account the novelties that are introduced in the tourism sector," the minister said. 

She pointed out that the Tourism Ministry is being updated with all the new international trends and make sure that they are involved in cooperation with its partners. 

Regarding Egypt's New Hospitality Criteria, launched in September, Al-Mashat said that new types of hotels, namely eco-friendly lodges, apartment hotels, heritage hotels, environmental safari camps, and dahabiya, had been included in the classification for the first time. 

She clarified the classification comes as a "commitment to growing the tourism sector in a responsible and sustainable way," a matter, which will boost Egypt’s competitiveness globally. 

"The criteria does not only evaluate and classify hotels according to their infrastructure and fixed assets but also takes into account the quality of services, as well as environmental, health & hygiene standards," she further added. 

[caption id="attachment_93114" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Skyview of Alexandria[/caption]

Concerning the security challenges which Egypt faced, the minister explained that everything had changed and the government takes security very seriously, noting: "There is full coordination to make sure that everyone comes and leaves safely." 

She also mentioned how the international institutions recognized the country's security improvements like scoring the fourth-highest TTCI performance improvement, according to the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index and the most improved in the MENA region on the safety and security pillar as well as winning the 2019 Global Champion Award of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) this year.

The leading monthly trade publication for the hotel and hospitality industry said the Egyptian tourism sector's ship is being run by Al-Mashat, the first woman and the youngest person to hold this position in Egypt.