05:00 p.m
Thursday 02 February 2023
Books – Youssef Afifi:
The current winter season is witnessing a noticeable increase in the number of tourist trips from Europe to Sharm El-Sheikh, Hurghada and other tourist areas.
Dr. Hossam Hazaa, a member of the Egyptian Federation of Tourist Chambers affiliated with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, reviewed the mechanism for attracting retirees and those over the age of 60.
Hazaa told Masrawy that most retired tourists or those over the age of 60 come from Europe in the winter, especially Western Europe, noting that many of them begin to enjoy their lives over the age of 60 because all their lives were work and so on, in some German nationalities. European, English, etc.
He explained that the methods of attracting this type of tourists require searching through Egypt’s offices abroad for a nursing home, and there are companies specialized in this type of tourists through which marketing can be done to companies for the elderly.
Hazaa continued: There are companies for retirees and out of service, and this is done through coordination with foreign tourism companies, and Egypt targets by setting certain incentives and discounts for people over the age of sixty in a specific way and different from others that attract them more and have advantages over the average person, and all of these are among the important things that Attract retirees to visit Egypt.
For his part, Dr. Atef Abdel Latif, a member of the Tourism Investors Association in South Sinai, stressed that working on the file of attracting retirees, the elderly and those under the age of 60 requires the concerted efforts of all concerned, led by the ministries of tourism, antiquities, aviation and foreign affairs.
Atef explained to Masrawy that there are many of these groups looking to come to Egypt, which requires communication with them through Egyptian embassies and revitalization offices abroad and companies contracting with Egypt abroad, especially the international company that was recently contracted with.
He continued: In Europe, there are homes for the elderly in Germany, France, Britain, Italy and other European countries, and it is possible to communicate with them and make trips for them, through Egyptian hotels and tourism companies in these countries.
He pointed out that the arrival of this type of tourists anywhere in Egypt during the winter season, compared to their temperatures in Egypt, is for them a “paradise” because they will find the weather suitable.
Atef stressed that this requires the development of facilities, offers and packages for them, and it is marketed on the Internet and social media through tourism and aviation companies in order to attract the largest number of them, and this requires the solidarity of all parties responsible for the sector in the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the Ministry of Aviation and Foreign Affairs, businessmen and the concerned authorities.
He continued: The tourism sector must benefit from the presence of about 150 million elderly and retirees in European countries, who have started from now searching for places to travel to and visit during the coming winter, in light of the talk about a lack of energy supplies to Europe during the coming winter as one of the effects of the Russian-Ukrainian war. And that is by preparing tourism programs for this category at reasonable prices to visit Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada during the coming winter.
