WTTC
report highlights the importance
of aviation liberalization for
Egypt's Travel &
Tourism Cairo,
Egypt - 31 August 2005 : The
World Travel & Tourism
Council (WTTC) today released a
special report on the impact of
Egyptian aviation policies on the
country's Travel &
Tourism. The
report, commissioned by the
Egyptian Tourism Federation
(ETF), has estimated the impact
of liberalization policies on
visitor arrivals to Egypt and the
contribution of Travel &
Tourism to Egypt's GDP and
employment. The
estimates are based on WTTC's
2005 Tourism Satellite Accounting
(TSA) research, launched in April
this year, which is produced with
Oxford Economic Forecasting
(OEF). They show that the impact
will be considerable and that
liberalization of the aviation
industry is a prerequisite if the
government's own targets for
tourism are to be met. According
to WTTC's 2005 TSA forecasts,
Egypt is one of the leading
Travel & Tourism Economies in
the Middle East, and indeed the
world, ranking second and 14th
respectively in 2005 in terms of
projected annual increase of
Total Demand. WTTC/OEF
has estimated that civil aviation
liberalization could:
Boost international arrivals to
Egypt to 13.4 million per year by
2011 (compared to 11 million if
no policy changes
occur)
Increase Travel & Tourism
Industry GDP by 12 per cent in
2011, adding US$1.6 billion to
Travel & Tourism GDP
(compared with projections made
in the absence of
liberalization)
Generate 223,000 more jobs in the
Travel & Tourism industry by
2011 than would be generated in a
non-liberalized aviation
environment
Increase overall real GDP across
the economy by 1.8 per cent by
2011 To
achieve the government's target
of 15 million arrivals by 2011, a
series of measures should be
considered including the
increasing of air services in the
country on a weekly basis by an
additional: -
285 International flights to
Cairo -
425 International flights to
other airports -
530 domestic flights The
WTTC / OEF research is based on
the TSA model for Egypt, which
allows a look at broad tourism
indicators and at how these come
together to make up Travel &
Tourism Economy, and the wider
economic impact this has.
The main analysis is based on
constructing an alternative
scenario that assumes the full
implementation of an air
liberalization policy, to compare
with a baseline scenario which
assumes no progress with
liberalization. At
the launch of the report, which
is backed by industry and
government leaders in Egypt,
Jean-Claude Baumgarten, WTTC
President, said, "Egypt is
already a well-established
tourist destination.
Nevertheless, it is a country
which still has a huge potential
to unlock within its Travel &
Tourism industry. It is
clear from this research that
liberalization of the civil
aviation industry will be vital
if this potential is to be
realized. The Egyptian
authorities are to be highly
commended for the commitment to
developing Travel & Tourism,
with increased investment in the
industry and the expansion and
modernization of airport
facilities as well as steps
towards aviation
liberalization. I strongly
recommend them now to build on
this, opening up their skies to
international, low cost and
privately owned Egyptian carriers
and actively encouraging open
competition throughout the
sector." The
report also recommends a set of
initiatives and policy decisions
aimed at changing the current
regulatory environment,
including:- In
the short-term:
Responding positively and
immediately to international flag
carriers' requests to operate
additional frequencies or
increase capacity on direct
scheduled services to Cairo
International or other Egyptian
airports, thereby easing current
restrictions related to existing
aviation and Air Services
bilateral Agreements
Eliminating the existing
restrictions on international
charter operations to Cairo
International Airport, at least
outside the peak hour periods of
0600 &endash; 1200 and 1800
&endash; 0100
Attracting low-cost airlines to
Cairo International and other
Egyptian airports, providing that
they guarantee year-round
scheduled services, operating an
agreed number of daily
frequencies and
capacity
Ending all restrictions and all
discriminatory practices against
privately owned Egyptian airlines
wishing to operate domestic
routes
Encouraging international
carriers to carry passengers from
a third country via their home
hub airport to Egypt on scheduled
flights In
the medium-term
Restrictive provisions included
in air services agreements should
be renegotiated and
released
Egyptian privately owned airlines
should have access to traffic
rights under bilateral
ASAs
All restrictions and regulations
that are today limiting
international charter or low-cost
operations to Cairo International
should be eliminated
New legislation should be
introduced to protect private
Egyptian airlines on both
international and domestic routes
from scheduling rules, pricing
strategies and other constraints
designed to drive them out of
business thus allowing fair
competition on all
routes. Mr
Baumgarten continued, "Such
measures will not only vastly
increase the number of visitors
who can enjoy the diverse
experiences Egypt has on offer,
but will in turn lead to a very
positive impact on the country's
economy, boosting GDP, creating
employment and encouraging
investment." For
further information please
contact Olivia Ruggles-Brise on +
44 (0) 20 7481 8007 or
olivia@wttc.org About
WTTC The
World Travel & Tourism
Council (WTTC) is the global
business leaders' forum for
Travel & Tourism. Its Members
are Chairmen, Chief Executives
and Presidents of the world's
most prominent Travel &
Tourism organizations. It is the
only body representing the
private sector in all parts of
the Travel & Tourism industry
worldwide. For more information
please visit
www.wttc.org.
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