Egypt Wins Best Heritage Destination in the Distinguished Destinations Category at the World Tourism Awards

Mr. Sherif Fathy, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, received the award for Egypt’s win as the Best Heritage Destination in the Distinguished Destinations Category. The award was presented during the World Tourism Awards ceremony held as part of the annual meeting of the Global Tourism Forum (GTF), currently convened in the Belgian capital, Brussels.

Egypt was selected for this award in recognition of its efforts to preserve its historical and cultural heritage and its work to promote and share it with travelers.

The World Tourism Awards, presented by the Global Tourism Forum, honor leading destinations, companies, innovations, and individuals who are redefining travel through sustainability, creativity, and impact. The awards ceremony highlights the top 100 stakeholders shaping the future of global tourism.

During his speech on the occasion, the Minister expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Global Tourism Forum for the award. He reviewed the growth achieved by Egypt since the beginning of the current year, noting a 21% increase in inbound tourism compared to last year.

He also spoke about the state's successful efforts in removing the Abu Mena archaeological site in Alexandria from the UNESCO World Heritage in Danger list last July, as well as the Ministry’s ongoing implementation of numerous archaeological projects to preserve and maintain Egyptian antiquities.

Mr. Sherif Fathy also touched upon the foreign archaeological missions working in Egypt, explaining that there are approximately 300 foreign archaeological missions, in addition to the Egyptian missions, operating across the Republic and making many important archaeological discoveries.

The ceremony was attended by Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan, former President and Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of the Maldives, a number of African ministers, Ms. Shaikha Al Nuwais, the Secretary-General-Elect of the UN Tourism Organization, tourism officials from several European and Asian countries, officials responsible for tourism and antiquities within the European Commission, in addition to a group of heads of tourism companies, international organizations working in the fields of environment, infrastructure development, and sustainability in tourism, and representatives of hotels, airlines, and global airport management companies.

Also attending from the Egyptian side were Engineer Ahmed Youssef, Assistant Minister for Strategic Departments and Acting CEO of the Egyptian General Authority for Tourism Promotion, Ms. Rana Gawhar, Minister's Advisor for Communication and External Relations and General Supervisor of the General Administration for International Relations and Agreements at the Ministry, Mr. Mohamed Farag, Financial and Administrative Supervisor of the Tourism Office in Berlin, Germany, and its affiliated supervisory countries, and Ms. Israa Osama, Second Secretary at the Egyptian Embassy to the European Union, NATO, Belgium, and Luxembourg.