03:30 p.m
Friday, January 27, 2023
Books – Youssef Afifi:
Weddings are a strong global tourism investment, in light of the exponential growth of the global wedding market.
It is expected that the volume of wedding tourism will reach $ 291 billion by 2031, after the market size recorded about $ 21.6 billion in 2021, according to data from the Statista website, which specializes in market data.
On January 10, 2023, Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport received the first direct flight from Ahmedabad Airport in India, with 337 passengers on board, in order to attend the ceremony that was held for 3 consecutive days.
government plan
Amr Al-Qadi, head of the General Authority for Tourism Promotion, said that the Indian wedding ceremony, which was recently organized in Sharm El-Sheikh, is part of the authority’s plan to break into wedding tourism.
Al-Qadi added, in his statements, that Egypt has sufficient experience to enter the world of wedding tourism, as well as various tourist destinations, whether historical, such as temples and pyramids, or beach in various tourist cities such as Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada, El Alamein and Marsa Alam.
He pointed out that the prices offered by Egypt are very competitive, as the prices of Egyptian hotels are the lowest in the world, indicating that there is no fixed price for weddings, and it varies from one event to another, giving an example of the Indian ceremony that was recently organized in Sharm El-Sheikh, and whose cost ranged between 3 to $4 million.
Regarding the number of weddings targeted during 2023, Al-Qadi said: “It cannot be said that we are targeting 10 to 15 parties this year, and we are still at the beginning, and we are trying to find a foothold in this tourist market.”
And he continued: Our main goal is to appear in an honorable and positive way that prompts the international federations responsible for organizing these weddings to go towards holding them in Egypt.
Tourism of the rich
Dr. Hossam Hazaa, a member of the Egyptian Federation of Tourist Chambers affiliated with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, said that weddings are a very good type of tourism in Egypt, and better work is required to raise the sector’s revenues.
Hazaa assured Masrawy that this type of tourism is very excellent and belongs to the rich, and requires focus on it because it will generate a very large income, but it belongs to a specific group in the world looking to spend a beautiful time in a specific country during the period of “joy”.
He pointed out that the average spending of this type of tourists is very high, as they need many things with relatives and loved ones, and they may come to Egypt on their private planes, in addition to their high spending while they are in hotels, most notably Indian tourists.
Egypt is seeking to support the tourism industry by competing in new markets such as wedding tourism, which recently launched with the first Indian wedding ceremony in Sharm El-Sheikh resort in South Sinai.
Labor training
For his part, Hisham Wahba, a member of the Chamber of Restaurants and Tourist Establishments, said that Egypt is distinguished in wedding tourism in a large way, stressing that we have a large elite of male and female singers at the highest level who are able to make this type of tourism a success.
Wahba expressed to “Masrawy” his hope that this type of tourism would work in Egypt in the manner required to achieve a large income for the tourism sector in Egypt, stressing that weddings at the international level generate very large sums, pointing out that the state of India achieved an income estimated at billions in this type of tourism. tourism.
He emphasized that Egypt is ready to implement wedding tourism, but we lack the training of workers, especially those working in wedding halls, very well, with a better modernization of this type.
Wahba pointed out that Egypt is distinguished in this type of weddings, as it holds wedding parties for its people, explaining that weddings in Egypt are an essential thing for Egyptians to complete marriage and invite relatives and loved ones.
It is worth noting that the Tourism Revitalization Authority’s plan to break into wedding tourism began in May 2022, when a vision was set to move forward in this type of tourism, and to try to attract the world’s wealthy and major unions responsible for organizing these weddings.
The Tourism Promotion Authority invited one of the Indian unions organizing weddings outside the borders of India in August 2022, where a workshop was organized with the participation of 49 Indian companies.
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Farah Hindi.. Statement from Tourism regarding Sharm El-Sheikh receiving direct flights from India
