Egypt eyes green and sustainable tourism

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German NGO delivers funding and expertise to green Sharm – Bose International chosen

Ministry establishes a department for environmentally-friendly development as US designers mull ways to turn Sharm El-Sheikh into low footprint 'eco-city'

Egypt will establish a department in the Ministry of Tourism to promote green and sustainable development, it was announced on Monday.

The decision, taken by minister Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, is part of a long-term plan to promote environmentally-friendly practices in the tourism sector, which was worth around $11 billion to Egypt's economy before the revolution.

In a similar move, Abdel Nour met with a delegation from the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) to discuss German finance for the 'green' conversion of a number of hotels in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.

In 2009, the tourism ministry launched an initiative to transform Sharm into a green city that meets World Tourism Organization guidelines.

The first assistant tourism minister Hisham Zaazou said the ministry is using the services of Bose International to convert Sharm into a green city.

The US-based architecture firm has studied how to reduce gas emissions from hotels and cars, and examined previous studies on the region and city, Zaazou said.

Although there will be an effort to increase the amount of green space in the city, developers will also look for alternative energies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, he added.

Solar electricity will play a role, he said, and electrical-powered vehicles will be introduced in a bid to reduce environmentally-damaging gas emissions.

Hisham Zaazou, the mastermind behind Egypt’s ambitious tourism development also told Vision that German technical donor GTZ/GIZ is helping to green Sharm initially with up to $1m

Egypt will also become the partner country of ITB Berlin 2012. Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, the new Egyptian Minister of Tourism, and Raimund Hosch, CEO of Messe Berlin, have signed an agreement to this effect at ITB Berlin.

“This is extremely important for us”, said Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour adding, “we stand by our business partners and will be honouring all our agreements”. He noted that as the sector contributing most to the Egyptian economy tourism would continue to remain important. “The livelihood of one in seven Egyptians depends directly or indirectly upon tourism.”

Egypt drew more than 14 million overseas tourists last year and still aims to attract 25 million a year by 2020. Said Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour "We will do everything that is necessary"

Valere Tjolle
Valere is editor of the Sustainable Tourism Report Suite 2011 Get your copy at a special offer price: HERE