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Post Covid-19 Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a الترويج ل مسار العائلة /Niche Religious Tourism Destination السياحة بعد 19 المقدسة كوجهة للسياحة الدينية -COVID:

Hend Elbehary [email protected]

Mona Elsayed [email protected]

Nada Abdelghany [email protected]

Yasmine Mandour [email protected]

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Recommended Citation Elbehary, Hend; Elsayed, Mona; Abdelghany, Nada; and Mandour, Yasmine, "Post Covid-19 Tourism: -COVID: الترويج ل مسار العائلة /Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination .Papers, Posters, and Presentations. 83 .(السياحة بعد 19 المقدسة كوجهة للسياحة الدينية" (2021 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/studenttxt/83

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Post Covid19 Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination A Policy Paper

Prepared by: Hend Elbehary Mona Elsayed Nada Abdelghany Yasmine Mandour

Under the supervision of: Dr. Hamed Shamma Associate Professor of Marketing & BP Endowed Chair at the School of Business, The American University in Cairo

June 2021

*Names are listed in alphabetical order* Published by: The Public Policy HUB The School of Global Affairs and Public Policy (GAPP) The American University in Cairo (AUC)

Project Director: Dr. Laila El Baradei, Professor of Public Administration

Project Co-Director: Dr. Shahjahan Bhuiyan, Associate Professor of Public Administration & Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies & Administration

Senior Project Manager: Mohamed Kadry, MPP

Senior Project Specialist: Waleed Wagdy El-Deeb

Senior Communication & Outreach Specialist: Ghadeer Ahmed Ali

«The opinions in the paper are those of the authors and do not reflect AUC policies or views. They are published to stimulate further dialogue on issues and challenges facing Egypt in an attempt to expose graduate students to practical policy solutions.» THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB Table of Content

• List of Figures 1

• List of Tables 1

• List of Abbreviations 2

• Executive Summary 3 1. Overview of the Egyptian Tourism Sector 3 1.1 The Significance of the Tourism Sector to the National Economy 4 1.2 The Tourism Sector Supply and Demand Side Analysis 5 1.2.1 The Tourism Sector Supply Side Analysis: Mass Tourism Vs. 5 Niche Tourism 7 1.2.2 Demand Analysis: International Vs. Domestic Tourists 8 1.3 The Tourism Sector Structural Challenges 9 1.4 The Egyptian Tourism Sector Resilience 10 1.4.1 The Impact of COVID19- on the Tourism Sector 12

2. Problem Statement 14 2.1 Rationale for Niche Tourism 14 2.2 Overview of Religious Tourism in Egypt and the HFT 15 2.3 Rationale for the HFT 16

3. Assessment of the HFT 18 3.1 Stakeholders Analysis 18 3.2 International Practices 19 3.2.1 Palestine 19 3.2.2 Jordan 19 3.3 Current Policies on Religious tourism and the HFT 20 3.3.1 Main Activities 20 3.3.2 Policy Assessment 21

4. Policy Alternatives and Recommendations 22 4.1 Policy Alternatives 22 4.2 Assessment of Policy Alternatives 28 4.3 Policy Recommendations 28 4.3.1 Implementation Plan 30

• References 32

• Appendix 1: Types of Niche Tourism in Egypt 40

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 5 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB List of Figures

Figure 1: Tourism Overall & Direct Contribution to GDP in US Billion. 5

Figure 2: Tourism Overall & Direct Contribution to Employment in Millions. 5

Figure 3: Number of arrivals in thousands by top 7 nationalities 2014-2018. 8

Figure 4: 8

Figure 5: Egypt's Tourism Competitiveness Index for 2019 9

Figure 6: The Performance of the Egyptian Tourism Sector in Response to Crises 11

Figure 7: Tourists Arrivals in Millions and Tourists’ Expenditures in Billions USD 12 2010-2019

Figure 8: Number of Tourists’ Arrival (Aug 2019- Aug 2020) 13

Figure 9: Number of Touristic Nights Spent (Aug 2019- Aug 2020) 13

Figure 10: 14

Figure 11: HFT Map Description 16

Figure 12: Rationale for the HFT Selection as a Priority Niche Tourism Product 17

Figure 13: Approaches for Policy Alternatives Design for New Tourism Products 18

List of Tables

Table 1: Comparison between the Number of Accommodations Lodging 10 across UE in 2015

Table 2: Policy Alternatives Scoring 28

Table 3: Proposed Implementation Plan 30

Table 4: Details on Niche Tourism Segments in Egypt 40

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 1 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB List of Abbreviations

CBT Community-Based Tourism

GoE Government of Egypt

HFT Holy Family Trail

MICE Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing and Exhibitions

MoETE Ministry of Education and Technical Education

MoLD Ministry of Local Development

MoPED Ministry of Planning and Economic Development

MoTA Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

OBG Oxford Business Group

OECD Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development

TALCM Tourism Area Life Cycle Model

TTCI Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index

TVET Technical Vocational Education and Training

UE Upper Egypt

WTTC World Tourism and Travel Council

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 2 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB Executive Summary The tourism sector constitutes a significant targeted marketing towards Christian pil- importance for the Egyptian economy, with grims to promote the HFT. a contribution of 11.9% to the GDP and a to- tal employment of 2.49 million in 2018. The Building on the current and past policies ad- sector comprises different tourism segments opted by the Egyptian government to pro- including both mass tourism and niche tour- mote the HFT, 3 policy alternatives were sug- ism, where Egypt is heavily dependent on the gested and assessed based on economic and former. Over the past years, the sector was technical criteria. The 3 policy alternatives hit by different internal and external shocks are: that left the sector struggling with instabilities 1. Introducing the Holy Family Trail as a in its revenues, and hence a decline in foreign “product destination” currency reserves. In addition, COVID-19 has 2. Introducing the Holy Family Trail as a “cul- introduced a new global norm that hurdles turally meaningful destination” the mobility of mass tourist groups and the 3. Introducing the Holy Family Trail as a functionality of the sector as it used to be. ‘place’s narrative’

In light of that, there is a need to shift ori- The culturally meaningful destination is rec- entation towards a niche tourism sector ommended as the most fitting policy frame- based on Butler’s (1980) Tourism Area Life work since it would address the particularly Cycle Model (TALCM). The religious tourism unique nature of the destinations across the sector was identified as a potential niche selected areas in UE across the HFT and ap- segment since it has been the focus of the peal to the target audience of spiritual dev- government over the past 5 years. The Holy otees among Christian pilgrims worldwide. Family Trail (HFT) is selected as the unique The reason behind the selection of this mod- product of focus given Robinson and No- el is the belief that tourism should be reintro- velli’s (2005) approach for niche tourism duced as a full-fledged package that aims at product prioritization. introducing tourists not only with the tangible heritage of the place they visit, but also with The promotion and development of the the intangible one behind its foundation. Holy Family Trail must primarily address the structural challenges in the sector, mainly A set of policies under this framework is pro- the lack of sufficient tourism services such as posed and an implementation plan outlining accommodation and transportation outside the recommended policy option is suggest- the touristic cities. In addition, it should also ed, where objective indicators, milestones, focus on the re-orientation of marketing of key activities, a suggested timeline, and rele- Egypt as a religious tourism destination with vant stakeholders are presented

1. Overview of the Egyptian Tourism Sector

Egypt has been a tourism destination since The 19th century as well witnessed the early the pharaonic era, where travel for educa- seeds of organized tourism in Egypt, with the tional and recreational purposes by privi- promotion of transit tourism through con- leged families have been documented (Gyr, structing the “Overland Route” in 1840, a mail 2010). However, the 19th century marked the delivery route between India and England main factors for the development of tour- that passes through Egypt (Novelli, 2020). ism as an economic sector in Egypt (Novelli, The same period has witnessed an increase 2020). These factors included the discovery of in special facilities for tourists, which include the Rosetta Stone (Hagar Rasheed) and the Turkish baths and hotels. publishing of Description of Egypt Encyclopedia.

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 3 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 1. Overview of the Egyptian Tourism Sector

In addition, the 19th century witnessed the with a focus on related services and infra- shift of tourism from a western phenome- structure. The 1980s and 1990s witnessed non to a Middle Eastern one with the launch- the development of beach tourism in Egypt ing of Thomas Cook & Sons excursions, the and the involvement of the private sector in first mass tourism and travel agency (Hunt- investments in the sector in general and Si- er, 2004). This resulted in an increase in the nai Peninsula in particular (Gray, 1998). number of tourists, as they organized tours for the wealthy and upper middle classes, Between 1992 and 2007, 557 tourist proj- and the number of tourists doubled to reach ects with a total investment of EGP 9.7 billion 67,772 tourists in 1872 (Novelli, 2020). were established. In 2006, the GoE started a tourism development program extending till During the 20th century, the sector contin- 2011 with the aim of attracting EGP 8 billion ued to develop with the promotion of differ- investments in the sectors and it launched ent products of cultural tourism despite the “Gift of the Sun Campaign”. The payoff of different interruptions between 1952 and these efforts accumulated, and the sector 1973. The last 50 years have witnessed the reached its peak in 2010, where international evolvement of the tourism sector as we know arrivals reached 14.7 million in 2010. (Index it today. This started with the establishment mundi, n.d.). of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (MoTA) in 1964 followed by providing it with Post 2010, the sector has experienced differ- full control over the tourism sector in 1973 ent shocks that left it struggling to recover to (Gray, 1998). In 1975, the ease of visa restric- its peak point. This policy paper addresses tions was introduced for different western the challenges of the tourism sector accumu- countries. In 1976, the tourism sector be- lating over the past 10 years with the objec- came central for the government of Egypt tive of proposing policy solutions that also (GoE), where 12% of the national budget was factor for the new world post COVID-19. allocated for the development of the sector

1.1 The Significance of the Tourism Sector to the National Economy

The tourism sector constitutes a significant third largest source of foreign currency for importance to the Egyptian Economy; the the national economy after remittances and sector contributed 9.3% to the country’s GDP non-oil exports (OECD, 2020). and 26.2% to its total exports in 2018 (WTTC, 2020). Moreover, it represents a main source of employment and foreign currency.

It is one of the most labor-intensive sectors in the economy, as it employs a labor population of about 2.49 million, representing 9.7% percent of the total employment in all sectors (WTTC, 2020). In addition, it constitutes the

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 4 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 1. Overview of the Egyptian Tourism Sector The significance of the tourism sector to the ment and GDP indicated in figures 1 and 2, national economy is reflected by its rising di- respectively. rect and overall contribution to both employ-

35.9

3.5

Figure 1: Tourism Overall & Direct Contribution to GDP Figure 2: Tourism Overall & Direct Contribution to in US Billion. Source: Constructed by authors based on Employment in Millions. Source: Constructed by authors World Data Atlas Egypt database based on World Data Atlas Egypt database

1.2 The Tourism Sector Supply and Demand Side Analysis 1.2.1 The Tourism Sector Supply Side Analy- The other segments constitute the niche sis: Mass Tourism Vs. Niche Tourism tourism sector, an umbrella term that re- fers to different types and forms of tourism The Egyptian tourism sector has a diversi- that are done in small groups, as opposed fied portfolio of different tourism segments to mass tourism (Stainton, 2020, November targeting both mass and niche tourism sec- 9). Eco-based tourism has developed since tors. This includes recreational tourism, the 1980s, where it is based on 13 different cultural tourism, eco-based tourism, com- natural reserves in Egypt1. CBT has become a munity-based tourism (CBT), religious tour- global millennial trend, where it is based on ism, health tourism, gastro-tourism, sports the involvement of local community, partic- tourism and MICE tourism, which stands for ularly rural ones, to ensure the tourism ben- meetings, incentive, conventions and exhibi- efits outreach to locals. CBT is developing tions tourism. across Sinai, Giza and Minya.

Both recreational and cultural tourism, Religious tourism is associated with pilgrim- characterized by tour groups and all-inclu- age trips and sacred sites seeing. It has main- sive packages, constitute the mass tour- ly been exercised as part of cultural tourism ism sector in Egypt. Recreational tourism is sightseeing since Egypt hosts various Islamic, based on beach resorts across the Red Sea Christian and Jewish archaeological sites. In and Mediterranean in addition to Nile Cruis- addition to that, Egypt possesses different es. Cultural tourism, on the other hand, is scared sites that place it as a destination for based on the archaeological sites in Cairo, pilgrimage and worship purposes, such as Luxor and Aswan. the Holy Family Trail “HFT”.

1 Eco tourism destinations include: the Ras Muhammad Reserve, Nabq Reserve, St. Catherine Reserve, Taba Reserve in Sinai, Jabal Elba Reserve in Halayeb, Wadi Elhitan and Wadi El Rayan and Lake Qarun in Fayoum, Elba Protected Area in Halayeb, Petrified Forest in Cairo, Alexandria Aquarium, etc. (Elnagar & Derbali, 2020). Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 5 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 1. Overview of the Egyptian Tourism Sector

Health Tourism is associated with both med- Sports tourism is associated with big sports ical and wellness tourism. Egypt has several events, where the segment boomed over the internationally accredited hospitals and clin- last 3 years as Egypt hosted 7 international ics that provide medical treatment at afford- sports events in 2019 alone2. Similarly, MICE able prices compared to other destinations tourism is associated with international busi- (EG-GATE, n.a.a). In addition, the ecological ness events and cultural festivals, where dif- environment in Egypt attracts many tourists ferent events have been hosted over the who come to enjoy mineral water springs past 5 years3. More detailed description of and sand dunes that treat incurable skin and the different niche tourism segments and rheumatic diseases. The estimated number their current development status in Egypt of springs all over Egypt reached 1356, in ad- is provided in Appendix 1. dition to deserts and oases areas (SIS, 2017, March 23). Despite the presence of different forms of niche tourism that can be offered, the sector Gastro Tourism is a form of niche tourism is biased towards mass tourism since it has that involves experiencing local food either proven to be more rewarding. Such bias is re- as the main purpose of the journey or at flected through the different marketing cam- least among its main components. This tour- paigns such as “This is Egypt” and “People to ism segment is not yet full-fledged. How- People”, where they focus on the mainstream ever, some individualistic efforts emerged tourism segments and address the profile of including “Bellies En-Route” a culinary tour- organized mass tourists. However, it is worth ism start-up, “Visit Badrashin” a development noting that there is a lack of published statis- program/initiative and “Cairo Bites” which is tics on niche vs. mass tourism consumption one of the biggest food festivals (Elmoghazy in Egypt to support this argument. & Omar, 2016).

2 The African Cup of Nations for football, the World Squash Cup, as well as the World Cup for Diving, the Beach Volleyball World Cup, the Junior Women Volleyball Championship, the Mediterranean Handball Championship, and finally the Arab Golf Championship (Masrawy, 2019, June 20). 3 This includes Cairo International ICT Conference, Luxor African Film Festival, Cairo International Film Festival, World Youth Forums, Egypt Economic Development Conference.

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 6 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 1. Overview of the Egyptian Tourism Sector

Text Box 1: Mass Tourism Vs. Niche Tourism

Niche tourism is an umbrella term that refers to different types and forms of tourism that are done in small groups, as opposed to mass tourism (Stainton, 2020, November 9).

Niche tourism is usually contrasted with mass tourism in different aspects:

• Organization of the travel: Niche tourism leans towards supporting solo travel, whereas mass tourism is usually large-scale group organized holidays that gather large numbers of people together in one place at the same time for recreational purposes (Naumov & Green, 2015).

• Saturation level of a travel’s destination: Stainton (2020, November 9) pointed out that a tourist destination could be considered as a niche as long as it does not attract too many tourists that can have negative implications on the site by over tourism.

• Psychographic typology of tourists: whether they are driven towards discovering novel places and trends (Venturers) or merely spending leisure time in traditional formats and activities (Dependables) (Plog, 2001).

• Nature of a tourist attraction: niche tourism compromises many diversified activities that range from eco-based tourism, community-based tourism, rural tourism, zorbing tourism (referring to risky sports activities), dark tourism (referring to attractions related to ancient tombs), etc. Each of these types seems to appeal to specific types of individuals with specific interests, needs, desires and priorities. Mass tourism, on the contrary, is affiliated with traditional recreational activities that usually attract a wide range of individuals (Marson, 2011).

According to an interview with a sector ex- 1/3 of global tourists’ movements in 2018 pert, the total revenues of mass tourism (CBI, 2020). segments is usually higher than the niche segments as mass tourists outnumber niche 1.2.2 Demand Analysis: International Vs. ones. However, the sustainability of such an Domestic Tourists approach is questionable given the current COVID-19 situation. Moreover, there is an The demand side of tourism sector is repre- untapped potential for Egypt to expand at sented by both international and domestic least two segments of its niche tourism giv- tourists. While international tourists consti- en the rising demand. On one hand, global tute the main source of revenues and for- medical tourism is expected to grow up to $ eign currency, domestic tourists have always 273.72 billion by 2027, especially amid COV- been the haven for the tourism sector in ID-19 (Allied Market Research, 2020). On the times of crises and when international flights other hand, 450 million tourists travelled for refrained from Egypt. religious and faith purposes accounting for

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 7 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 1. Overview of the Egyptian Tourism Sector

The international demand on Egyptian tour- dicated in figure 3, where they accounted for ism is dominated by European countries, almost 25% of visitors. Russia was followed which account for 61% of total tourists com- by Germany and the UK. Post 2016, the scene ing to Egypt. This share is led by Germany, has changed and become dominated by Ger- Russia, the UK, and Italy. In the second place many, followed by Ukraine and Saudi Arabia. comes the Arab countries (27%), followed Comparing 2014 and 2018 international ar- by other countries (8%), then the USA (4%) rivals, both Russia and the UK shares signifi- (CAPMAS, 2019; ECES, 2020). Prior to the cantly declined, falling by 95% and 50%, re- 2016 Russian plane crash, Russia had the spectively. lion share of tourism arrivals in Egypt as in-

Figure 3: Number of arrivals in thousands by top 7 nationalities 2014-2018; Source: Constructed by Author based on UNWTO Database As for the domestic tourism flow, it exhibited a steady increase in the tourists’ flow reaching 2 million tourists in 2015, as shown in figure4 . Nevertheless, there is a potential for growth in the domestic tourism market share. Although the development of domestic tourism does not substitute for international tourism, its development constitutes a resilient safety net for the sector that can provide the stability for employment and income generation during shocks and crises.

Figure 4: Domestic Tourists flow (2015-2010). Source (MoLD, 2020) Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 8 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 1. Overview of the Egyptian Tourism Sector

1.3 The Tourism Sector Structural Challenges

According to the Travel and Tourism Compet- ness dimension (124) and safety and security itiveness Index (TTCI), the Egyptian tourism dimension (112). In addition, Egypt occupies sector faces structural challenges in multiple a relatively poor rank in some other impor- aspects4. Egypt is lagging behind most coun- tant dimensions such as tourist services in- tries in some crucial aspects of the industry as frastructure (95), health and hygiene (90), hu- shown in figure 5. For instance, Egypt’s rank man resource and labor (89), ICT readiness lies in the last quartile in international open- (86) and business environment (70). 5

Figure 5: Egypt's Tourism Competitiveness Index for 2019. Source: (WEF, 2019)

There is a lack of sufficient infrastructure for as tourist-destination cities despite possess- serving tourists except for cities that are clas- ing touristic sites and attractions that are sified by the government as tourism-based. not commonly known or promoted (ULDEP, For instance, Egypt has the second highest 2020). For instance, there is a huge dispar- number of major hotels in Africa. None- ity between the number and categories of theless, some governorates in Upper Egypt hotels in governorates like Qena and Minya (UE) have less than 10 functioning tourism compared to Luxor and Aswan, as indicated accommodations. This is mainly because in the below table. they are not classified by the government

4TTCI benchmarks the travel and tourism competitiveness of 140 economies and measures “the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable development of the Travel & Tourism (T&T) sector, which in turn, contributes to the development and competitiveness of a country” (TTCI, 2019, P. IX). The index assesses the factors and policies that enhance the competitiveness of the sector in a country. This is done through the examination of 3 sub-indices: regulatory framework, business environment and infrastructure and human, cultural, and natural resources subindex. These frameworks measure Policy rules and regulations, Environmental sustainability, safety and security, Health and hygiene, Prioritization of travel & tourism, Air transport infrastructure, Ground transport infrastructure, Tourism infrastructure, ICT infrastructure, Price competitiveness in the T&T industry, Human resources, Affinity for travel & tourism, Natural resources, and Cultural resources (TTCI, 2019). 5The quartile measurement is based on dividing the 140 countries into 4 quartiles per dimension, so each quartile has 35 countries ranked ascendingly according to their scores.

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 9 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 1. Overview of the Egyptian Tourism Sector

Table 1: Comparison between the Number of Accommodations Lodging across UE in 2015. Source: (MoLD,2020)

Moreover, there is a persistent skill gap be- environment for the tourism sector in Egypt tween the labor supply, represented by TVET is complicated, with dispersion of some of and demanded skills by the labor market. This the main tourists’ services provided through gap impacts the quality of services that tour- the informal sector and the ununified regula- ists experience in the country and affects the tory framework for regulating these services overall experience. Additionally, the business (ILO, 2019). 6

1.4 The Egyptian Tourism Sector Resilience

Over the period (1995-2019), the Egyptian rate of total arrivals ranged from 12.8% to tourism sector witnessed many internal and 27.3% for internal shocks, referred to in the external crises that negatively impacted its grey color in figure 6, while it ranged from performance.7 As indicated in figure 6, the 2.33% to 2.87% for external shocks, referred tourism sector exhibited positive annual to in red (UNWTO, 2020a). growth rates unless a crisis, internal or ex- ternal, happened. Both internal and external crises did not seem to have a long-term neg- ative impact on the sector, validated by the positive growth rate of both measures in the year that directly follows each crisis. Except for COVID-19, internal shocks tended to have a stronger impact on the sector than external ones. For instance, the decline in the growth

6 For instance, there is a dual regulatory framework governing the restaurants in Egypt, where one is regulated only by the MoTA in terms of license and quality control, while the other is regulated by the governorate in terms of licensing and Ministry of Health and Ministry of Supplies for quality control. This example is also valid in the case of hotels (ILO, 2019). 7 Tourism performance is estimated by the total international arrivals and total expenditure spent within the country by international tourists.

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 10 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 1. Overview of the Egyptian Tourism Sector

Figure 6: The Performance of the Egyptian Tourism Sector in Response to Crises. Source: (UNWTO, 2020a)

The resilience of the tourism sector can be tourism exhibitions to directly access mass attributed to the sector being a priority for tourists. Moreover, attracting FDI to touristic the GoE, given its strategic importance to destinations to support infrastructure devel- the economy. Different policies and reform opment was among the main tools adopted programs were adopted since the mid-1970s by the GoE. when Egypt became an open economy. Until the late 1990s, most policies were addressed After 2010, a shift in policies approach was re- toward industry development. Since the 1997 quired to meet up the challenge imposed by Luxor massacre, policies have been diverted 3 internal shocks in a span of 5 years (2011- not only towards addressing the industry de- 2016) in addition to the rising global competi- velopment but also towards crisis manage- tion from different tourist destinations. Such ment to address the internal and external policy programs, adopted by the Ministry of shocks of the sector. Until 2010, the imple- Tourism and Antiquities (MoTA), focused on mented policies have shown effectiveness addressing the structural challenges in the reflected by the increase in tourists’ number sector and repositioning Egypt on the global from 5.1 million visitors in 2000 to almost tourism map. 14.7 million in 2010, the peak of the tourism sector in Egypt (Index mundi, n.d). Such focuses were reflected on “Egypt Mid Term Development Plan (2018-2022)” and “T The implemented policies during these 10 he Egyptian Tourism Structural Reform Pro- years have mainly focused on the promo- gram”. The former rested upon five main pil- tion of Egypt as a mass tourism destination lars to revive tourism: enhancement of the for leisure tourism with a focus on beach quality of tourism products, diversification of and cultural tourism. The promotion efforts tourism products beyond beach and cultural relied on direct marketing by having direct tourism, expansion and appealing to differ- tourism attaché offices in different Egyptian ent markets, skills development, and increas- embassies and consulates around the world. ing awareness of the importance of main- This is in addition to the participation of tour- taining tourism hubs and locations (MoPED, ism agencies and operators in international n.d.).

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 11 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 1. Overview of the Egyptian Tourism Sector The latter rested upon institutional reforms, Despite such improvements, the number of legislative reforms, promotion and market- tourists’ arrival has not yet recovered to the ing, infrastructure, tourism development, same peak as 2010, as illustrated in figure and adopting global tourism trends (MoTA, 7, where it declined from 14 million in 2010, September 2019). with a total expenditure of $ 13.6 billion and barely went back to 13 million in 2019 with a These policies paid off as Egypt’s TTCI rank total expenditure of $ 14.3 billion (WDI, 2020). improved considerably from 85 in 2013 to 65 in 2019 (out of 140 countries). This im- Not only did the number of tourists not reach provement makes Egypt occupy the 6th rank the past peak, but also the increase in the ex- among the MENA region (out of 15 countries) penditures is masked by the inflation of pric- and the 1st rank among the North African es as it is calculated based on nominal prices. countries. Egypt has its highest rank in price This implies that the tourism sector has not competitiveness (3), followed by cultural re- fully recovered over the past years to retain sources and business travel (22), then in pri- its 2010 position, where it can be on the path oritization of travel and environmental sus- of realizing its untapped potential. tainability (31 each) (WEF, 2019).

Figure 7: Tourists Arrivals in Millions and Tourists’ Expenditures in Billions USD 2019-2010. Source: Constructed by Author using World Atlas Data

1.4.1 The Impact of COVID-19 on the Tour- (January 2020 - August 2020) compared to ism Sector the same period of the preceding year (UN- WTO, 2020c). The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in As part of the global economy, the Egyp- China since December 31, 2019 has led to tian tourism sector has been hit sharply by tremendous negative repercussions on the Covid-19 crisis. Egypt announced the first tourism industry all over the world in gener- case of Covid-19 on February 14th, and the al and Egypt in particular. International trav- impact of the crisis started to reflect on the el restrictions in response to the spread of tourism sector starting from March 2020 Covid-19 pandemic have led to a sharp de- (Medhat & El Kassas, 2020). cline in international tourist arrivals. Inter- national tourist arrivals all over the world declined sharply by 70% during the period

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 12 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 1. Overview of the Egyptian Tourism Sector

As reported by the UNWTO Global Tour- respectively. ism Dashboard, the total number of inter- Consequently, international tourism receipts national arrivals declined by 64% in March showed a decline by 11% and 90% during the compared to the same month of the previ- first and the second quarters of year 2020, ous year. This decline jumped to 100% from respectively, compared to the same quarters April to June due to the suspension of air of the previous year (UNWTO, 2020b). Fig- flights to Egypt, starting from March 19th till ures 9 and 10 show the total number of tour- June 31st. After resuming flights on July 1st, ists’ arrivals and nights spent over the period the decline rate showed a slight recovery (Aug 2019-Aug 2020). and reached 93% in July and 82% in August,

Figure 8: Number of Tourists’ Arrival (Aug 2019- Aug Figure 9: Number of Touristic Nights Spent (Aug -2019 2020) Source (MoPED, 2020) Aug 2020). Source (MoPED, 2020)

The Covid-19 crisis differs from the other crises in two ways:

• The crisis has a global impact that does Both the Pre- and Post- COVID-19 challenges not differentiate between developed and facing the tourism sector call for innovative developing countries, and its impact is approaches to address the challenges sur- not expected to be short-term. rounding the sector. Although innovation has been part of the MoTA approach since 2018, • The crisis had hit both international and a need for re-focus and prioritization is inev- domestic tourism, eliminating the haven itable. This is particularly needed to account for Egyptian tourism sector during times for the new normal situation and to consider of instability. the complex nature of the sector.

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 13 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 2. Problem Statement Even though Egypt’s tourism product portfo- sector, mainly the lack of sufficient tourism lio is diversified and comprises a wide range services infrastructure in non-touristic cities of tourism products, Egypt relies heavily on such as accommodation and transportation. both segments of mass tourism: recreational Moreover, a need for reorientation of mar- and cultural. Given the increasing competi- keting campaigns towards niche segments tion that characterizes the marketplace of and niche tourists’ profiles is inevitable. the world mass tourism sector, in addition to the new normal dictated by COVID-19, there In this policy paper, religious tourism is se- is a need to identify unique niche tourism lected as a niche tourism segment with par- segments and products by focusing on the ticular focus on the HFT. The selection fol- needs and preferences that have not been lowed a funnel approach moving from the addressed yet and introduce them to the tourism sector to niche tourism, the religious sector, thereby increasing its competitive- one, till one product is selected: HFT. The ra- ness and sustaining its revenues. tionale for the selection of each layer under tourism sector is illustrated in the below sec- The identified niche segments and products tions. must be promoted and developed while ad- dressing the structural challenges in the

Figure 10: Funnel Approach for Tourism Product Identification. Source: By authors

2.1 Rationale for Niche Tourism According to the Tourism Area Life Cycle Niche tourism has also become appealing Model (TALCM), the tourism products of the to policy makers because it is less damag- destinations that are at their latter stages of ing, more sustainable, and able to generate development should be repositioned and higher revenues to policy makers compared rejuvenated with alternative niche products to mass tourism. Many have referred to the to expand their life cycle. The establishment environmental, social, and economic threats of such niches will empower small tourism associated with the dependency on mass operators, enable them to compete and tourism. Mass tourism brings many environ- maintain their market share in a highly com- mental problems to the hosting destinations, petitive marketplace, and motivate entrepre- such as littering, damage, depletion of re- neurship at the destinations (Knight, 2011). sources, displacement of animals, pollution, etc. Also, the persistent gathering of tourists in large numbers in a given destination could cause major social and cultural problems to both the tourists and locals (Marson, 2011). Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 14 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 2. Problem Statement

In addition, mass tourism is usually associat- Niche tourism on the other hand is driven ed with a very high cost of sustainability. The by a special sense of care about the environ- continuous flow of tourists in large numbers ment, community-driven responses towards to a specific destination drains its capacities cultural heritages, and even a desire for and decreases its attractiveness to future self-improvement. Moreover, niche tourists tourists. often spend more in comparison to tradition- al tourists and thereby guaranteeing more Even though many policies could be imple- revenues to the places they are visiting. This mented to increase the sustainability of mass can be attributed to the fact that niche tour- tourism (e.g., controlling the flow of tourists, ists often have a lust to engage and invest regular maintenance of touristic sites, etc.), in new and non-traditional activities (Knight, these policies come with very high financial 2011). and administrative costs (Stainton, 2020, Oc- tober 10). Text Box 2: Tourism Area Life Cycle Model (TALC)

Butler (1980) introduced the concept of the Tourism Area Life Cycle Model (TALC Model) which is adapted from the concept of the Product Life-cycle Model in marketing studies. According to this model, any tourism area passes through six main stages in its development, from the exploration stage to post-stagnation stage, as shown in the below figure. These stages are determined based on the evolution of the number of tourists visiting this area. He argues that a tourism area continues to develop until the number of tourists reaches the highest level. After this level, the tourism area will start to experience the negative consequences associated with over tourism CITATION Haz12 \l 1033 (Hazmi, Omar, Mohamed, & Mohammed, 2012)

2.2 Overview of Religious Tourism in Egypt and the HFT

The UNWTO distributed religious tourists ac- cal sightseeing of sacred edifices for cultural cording to their purpose of travel into two or educational purposes (Abu El Enain & Ya- groups. The first type is aiming to visit the hia, 2015). sacred sites of holiness and veneration to complete their pilgrimage. The second type is targeting the traditional and archaeologi-

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 15 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 2. Problem Statement Egypt's plethora of historical religious sites Egypt also has many monuments marking throughout its monuments and sanctuar- the Holy Family’s thirty-month journey into ies has attracted followers of the world’s Egyptian territory to escape from the oppres- three monotheistic faiths for millennia (Ga- sion of the Romans. These monuments con- lal, 2005). Egypt has many significant and stitute the 25 stops along the 3500 KM HFT historical mosques, where each one of these from Northern Sinai to Assuit, a unique tour- mosques refers to a different era of the Is- ism product to Egypt that targets both pil- lamic era in Egypt such as Al-Azhar Mosque, grims and standard tourists. The HFT map is Hussein Mosque, Ibn Tulun Mosque, etc. provided in the figure below, illustrating the Moreover, there is a wide range of Jewish path and stops of the Holy Family. temples, such as the Synagogue of Ben Ezra and the Shaare Shamayim synagogue in Cai- ro (El-Beltagui, 2011).

Figure 11: HFT Map Description. Source (SIS, July 2018).

2.3 Rationale for the HFT

The scope of this policy paper is confined past 5 years, the Egyptian government has to religious tourism in general and the HFT exerted unremitting efforts to position Egypt project in particular. The reason behind the as a religious tourism hub. By adopting Rob- selection of religious tourism is the fact that inson and Novelli’s (2005) selection criteria it has an additional advantage of being re- to prioritize niche tourism sectors, the HFT silient to political instability, which makes it meets the 3 criteria: geographical and demo- a more secure and stable source of tourism graphic criterion, product-related criterion, than the leisure one. In addition, over the and customer-related criterion.

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 16 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 2. Problem Statement

Geographical and Demographic Criterion

This criterion depends on the relevance of the niche to the geographical and demographical characteristics of the location.The Holy Family started their journey in Egypt from Northern Sinai and passed through many sites in the Delta, Wadi El Natrun, Greater Cairo and Upper Egypt (EG-GATE, n.a.b). This makes the locations of the HFT fit, by nature, the idea of making this trail a unique destination for religious tourism in Egypt.

Product-related Criterion

This criterion depends on the presence of activities, attractions, settlements, food and other amenities that meet the tourists› needs. The journey of the Holy Family left behind it many churches, monasteries and tombs of great historical importance that coexist along with Egyptian arts in Pharaonic times and Greco-Roman times on the one hand and the Islamic times on the other (El-Beltagui, 2011). However, the trail of the Holy Family incorporates many areas that are remote, less developed and less invested in local economic development. These areas, particularly in the middle of UE, have suffered for many years from marginalization and insufficient lodging supply despite the precious heritage and monuments they possess (MoLD, 2020). Hence, the continuous development of this unique niche will open a great room for the local development of these marginalized areas, especially with the fact that the development of these areas as tourism destinations is currently on the top priority of policy makers. Also, the development of the trail can contribute to the development of other micro niches that could contribute further to their development.

Customer-related Criterion

This criterion places a large weight on tourists’ preferences and expectations from a particular niche in order to make it appealing to them. The development of the HFT is directed to target preliminary 2.4 billion Christian pilgrims globally as well as other traditional tourists. Although the expected market for such emerging niche is large, many efforts still need to be done for marketing it as a niche tourism destination.

Figure 12: Rationale for the HFT Selection as a Priority Niche Tourism Product. Source: Adopted from Robinson and Novelli (2005

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 17 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 3. Assessment of the HFT

3.1 Stakeholders Analysis

• Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities: The misnistry is responsible for: (1) all tangible heritage related to this trail, (2) the selection of the areas and sites to start with, (3) the renovation of archeological sites and buildings, (4) the promotion of the trail as an emerging niche product that targets mainly Cristian pilgrims, and 1. Policy Makers (5) convening the area along the trail with accomodations, attractions, restaurants and other related services. • Ministry of Culture: The ministry is responsible for all intangible heritage related to the trail. • Ministry of Local Development: The ministry is responsible for the coordination between the governorates where the areas and sites of the Holy Family Trail exist.

• The private sector can play an important role in the development of the trail through its investment. Given the fact that the Holy Family Trail covers significant 2. Private areas in Egypt and that most of the areas are remote and underdeveloped, there Sector is a strong need for its participation. The private sector needs to be engaged during different implementation stages of the project and investment facilities and incentives are needed to be introduced from the side of the government.

• Domestic and international local religious leaderships are expected to play an 3. Local and important role in consulting with policy makers concerning: (1) the organization of International related events and activities that attract tourists, and (2) the content to emphasize Religious on in the marketing of the Holy Family Trail and its timing. They also could be Leaders engaged in providing the necessary training for the personnel staff who are going to work in such project (e.g. tour guides, services providors in the sites, etc.).

• Main Audience: Domestic and international Cristians pligrims whose main purpose is worship and pligrimage. These tourists are expected to target the place per se and are not expected to come for any other reasons. • Secondary Audiance: Domestic and international tourists from other religions 4. Tourists who believe in Jesus Christ and Virgin Mary. These tourists are less likely to solely target the place and usually come for religous purposes along with other purposes (e.g. exploring history and culture, leisure, etc.). • Others: Domestic and international tourists interested mainly in other places but might come to the place to explore different cultures and religions and spend part of their leisure time.

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 18 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 3. Assessment of the HFT

3.2 International Practices

3.2.1 Palestine 3.2.2 Jordan

One of the best practices in promoting re- Religious tourism constitutes an important ligious tourism in Palestine and in imple- segment of tourism for Jordan. In 2005, al- menting an eco-tourism component was most 1/6 of tourists visited holy places. the Abraham’s Path “Masar Ibrahim Al Khal- Madaba city is a religious tourism hub in il”. Its implementation approach succeeded Jordan, where the total number of visitors in grabbing international tourism. This path reached 220, 976 visitors in 2017 (MoTA, has an attractive website that describes it- 2017). To capitalize on the existing demand, self as “a trail of community-based tourism the Jordanian Ministry of Tourism has iden- that follows the footsteps of prophet Ibra- tified the Christian Pilgrimage route that him through the Middle East (Isaac, 2016).8 passes through the city of Madaba by listing the religious tourist sites in the city within According to the official website of the trail, the tourist route aiming to extend the du- it is a long-distance walking trail following ration of the tourists’ stay, increase profits, prophet Ibrahim’s path across the Middle attracting more investment and creating job East from his birthplace in Urfa, Turkey, opportunities for the people of the governo- south through Syria and Palestine to Beer- rate (Alrawadieh, 2010).9 sheba. “It is a journey which celebrates not only the countryside through which it pass- Jordan designed and implemented a reli- es but also the cultures, antiquities and hos- gious tourism strategy focusing on promo- pitality along the way”. tion, advertisement, sales stimulating, and personal selling to activate Christian reli- The project has been implemented and gious tourism in Madaba and to have an im- funded by the World Bank for three years pact on the local community, national econ- to make substantial improvements to a seg- omy and consequently boost the prospects ment of the trail, from Jenin south through of sustainable development (Al-makhad- Sebastia to Nablus. The project is a joint ef- mah, 2019). fort by an initiative called Abraham Path Moreover, Jordan has been in collaboration and the Masar Ibrahim Al Khalil organiza- with many entities to launch a new route tion. Experts claimed that the key success which is the Abraham Path in Jordan, fol- factors to the project are: lowing the footsteps of prophet Abraham through the Middle East and capitalizing on 1. Competent and experienced local guides the established path and efforts in Palestine. must be selected, trained (including GIS The main aim of this project is “to reinforce training) and then tested on weekly walks the dialogue between the three monothe- with locals. istic religions and to promote the cultural 2. Existence and development of hospitality heritage in the region” (Badr and Hopfinger, services along the trail. 2012).

8 http://masaribrahim.ps/en/ 9 The Christian Pilgrimage route: one of the longest routes in Madaba Governorate, which is 70 km length, starts from Makawar through Jebel Nebo to Al-Maghtas, to be one of the most important historical religious pathways in Jordan (Alrawadieh, 2010). The route is a path for religious, cultural and heritage tourism and meditation (Al-makhadmah, 2019).

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 19 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 3. Assessment of the HFT

3.3 Current Policies on Religious tourism and the HFT

The Egyptian government has been promot- and areas on the trail to be developed and ing religious sites and attractions over the then offered as a new tourism experience past 20 years. Nevertheless, these efforts especially for Christian pilgrims. were under the umbrella of cultural tourism 2. The Tourism Development Authority has promotion and development rather than a put down the plan for the development standalone focus on positioning religious provisions and rehabilitation of the areas tourism as a separate segment offered by and sites of the HFT in cooperation with Egypt. It is also worth noting that these ef- the Ministry of Local Development (MoLD) forts were more themed as initiatives rather and the Civilization Coordination Agency. than structured policies, programs, and proj- The plan includes: ects. • The development of services sur- Over the past 5 years, however, there have rounding the sites including the im- been consistent efforts and political will to provement of the roads leading to the position Egypt as a religious tourism hub. In Holy sites, creation of infrastructure, 2014, the MoTA announced its willingness to new roads to pave the entry of tourist develop and promote the HFT with attrac- cars and buses and guiding signposts. tions, services, and amenities along the way. • An investment scheme for projects The main objective of this development is to that need to be developed to serve achieve a full urban development with focus the trail including ecolodge accom- on poor areas in Delta and UE. In addition, modation, bazars, cafes, and restau- it will create new paths and areas that will rants. In addition, the plan included be added to the different archeological sites the training of local communities of in Egypt. An additional objective entails en- the different sites. couraging new products of tourism that will result in an increase in the number of nights 3.3.1.2 Renovation and Development spent and consequently increase in the total expenditures per night. 1. The Supreme Council of Antiques started the renovation of different religious ar- 3.3.1 Main Activities cheological sites along the Holy Trail. “The Hanging Church” in Old Cairo, followed by Aiming to target the 2.4 billion Christians the “Church of The Blessed Virgin Mary” globally, the MoTA has allocated EGP 60 mil- and the “Martyr Saint Abanoub” in Sam- lion through the Tourism and Antiques fund noud in Gharbiya had their renovation for a project/program to revive this trail, completed and they are now reopened. where key activities were carried out by the This is in addition to completing the ren- relevant stakeholders. The key activities can ovation of different parts of the 4 monas- be classified into 3 categories: planning, ren- teries in Wadi El Natrun in Beheira. ovation and development, promotion, and 2. In March 2020, 41 million EGP were redi- marketing. rected to the MoLD to complete the de- velopment of the different sites of the Sa- 3.3.1.1 Planning cred Family Trail.

1. In 2017, a joint ministerial committee was established to supervise the development of the HFT in Egypt and to select the sites

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 20 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 3. Assessment of the HFT

3.3.1.3 Marketing and Promotion and Local Governments (UCLG) in Mexico City Conference. 1. Marking the 1st of June as the beginning of the sacred family trail, in coordination Nevertheless, the marketing and promotion with the orthodox church in Egypt. activities were made on a macro-level with 2. Establishing a ministerial national countries and religious representatives committee of experts to document the rather than focusing on individuals through HFT to have it enlisted by UNESCO as an direct marketing campaigns as “This is Egypt” intangible heritage in addition to the four and “People to People”. Particularly, these monasteries as tangible heritage sites. In two campaigns did not address the Holy March 2020, the file was handed to the Trail or position Egypt as Religious Tourism. national committee in Paris. Moreover, the current promotional activities 3. In 2017, a protocol between Egypt and have focused on organizations in Western the Vatican City was signed to declare and Europe: France and the Vatican, and none enlist the Holy Trail in Egypt in the Vatican of these activities addressed the Americas, Pilgrimage Catalogue. In May 2018, the where almost %25 of the world Christian Holy Trail in Egypt became officially enlisted. population are clustered in 3 countries in 4. In 2020, on the Sacred Family Trail them: United States, Mexico, and Brazil. anniversary, the MoTA released a digital tour of “St Sergius and St Bacchus Church” in Old Cairo. 5. The MoTA printed a brochure on the Holy Trail in 9 languages. The ministry has also organized different introductory trips for different international delegations from religious institutes such as the National Organization for Christian Pilgrimage in France.

3.3.2 Policy Assessment

To position itself globally on the religious tourism map, Egypt has prioritized the focus on the Holy Trail, which is a politically and economically strategic move. Politically, it sends a global message on Egypt’s religious tolerance and openness. Economically, it capitalizes on Egypt’s competitive advantage due to the uniqueness of this trail.

It is too early to assess the effectiveness of these policies as the project is in its early stage and any potential tourism activities are hindered by the travel restrictions due to the COVID19- pandemic. However, the “Reviving of the Holy Trail” project has gained international recognition as a best practice by the international organization United Cities

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 21 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 4. Policy Alternatives and Recommendations

4.1 Policy Alternatives

Lichrou, M., Malley, L., and Patterson, M. • The “places as culturally meaningful en- (2008) differentiated between three main po- tities” approach. This approach places tential alternative approaches for introduc- importance not only on the destination ing a new tourism destination. According to as a physical place, but also on the social their analysis, the selected approach should context behind its existence. It treats a be identified before designating policies for destination as a result of an integrated set destinations’ development. These approach- of meanings that have been developed in es are as follows: a dynamic process throughout the desti- nation’s history that led to its existence in • The “places as products” approach. This reality. Here, the focus is not only on the approach treats a destination as a product tangible heritage of the destination, but, per se, that comprises a set of sub- prod- more importantly, on the intangible one ucts and services available for tourists’ behind it. consumption (e.g., services, attractions, infrastructures, activities, environmental • The “places as narratives” approach. This resources, and other amenities). Here, approach could be considered as a more the main focus is paid to the tangible developed form of the second one in the heritage; whereas the intangible one (e.g., sense that it utilizes the power of narra- cultural, historical, intellectual, social, etc.) tives in highlighting the importance of is considered as merely the destination’s the intangible aspect of the destination. resources that could be employed to cre- These places’ narratives could be created ate an appealing atmosphere for tour- through appropriate marketing policies. ism consumption of the physical/tangible product itself.

1. Place as Products 2. Places as Culturally Meaningful Entities 3. Places as Narratives • Tangible Heritage • Tangible Heritage • Intangible Heritage • Tangible Heritage • Intangible Heritage • Narratives of Tangible and Intangible Heritage

Figure 13: Approaches for Policy Alternatives Design for New Tourism Products. Source: By authors In the following lines, we provide a conceptu- nated in a way that handles the three main alization of how the HFT could be addressed dimensions that require further efforts for according to the above alternative approach- the development of the Holy Family Trail in es. In addition, under each approach we pro- Egypt: accommodation, transportation, and pose relevant policies that could be desig- marketing. Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 22 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 4. Policy Alternatives and Recommendations

This is mainly due to the fact that most areas exist, such as an airport in Assiut and exist- along the trail, especially in UE, are remote ing railway infrastructure to the main cities in and underdeveloped in addition to the lack UE, further enhancement and development of necessary amenities for attracting tourists, of specific routes are needed. mainly accommodation and transportation. There is a need for increasing lodging supply In addition, the current marketing initiatives coverage along the HFT and maintaining the for tourism focus mainly on branding Egypt quality of their services. Also, transportation as a mass tourism destination, and no spe- quality is crucial to the success of the full ex- cific campaigns have been directed so far perience offered to religious tourists visiting towards branding religious tourism and the the HFT. Even though some elements already HFT as a unique tourism destination.

Policy Alternative (1): Introducing the Holy Family Trail as a ‘Product Destination’

According to this alternative, the main focus should be paid to the physical destination along the HFT, which incorporates tourist attractions (e.g., churches, monuments, monasteries, and tombs) in addition to accommodation, Brief transportation, activities, and other amenities. Here, the historical and Description religious background of the place and the natural environment around it are considered as a means for increasing its attractiveness and appeal to tourists, not as an end in itself.

A. It is a traditional approach and does not require out-of-the-box solutions to be implemented. B. It tries to make the product appealing to a large base of tourists and this Advantages could be associated with low risk, high revenues, and low cost of providing tourist services due to economies of scale associated with mass production.

A. It treats the cultural, historical, and religious background of the HFT as resources that make the trail appealing without focusing on how the society values and experiences them or how they have contributed to the existence of the place throughout time. B. It focuses only on using communities’ resources to maximize tourists’ satisfaction and increase revenues without focusing on the needs of the local communities along the trail. This could lead to an overconsumption Disadvantages of existing resources and a reduction in the destination’s sustainability and attractiveness. C. It makes the place subject to intensive competition, given the wide variety of other Christian sites and monuments all over the world. D. It attracts consumers who are not too loyal to the place they visit, which makes revenues prone to economic ups and downs.

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For marketing: Given that this approach treats the intangible heritage of the place as a means for maximizing tourists’ satisfaction rather than an end in itself, this approach could be seen as based on the idea that religious tourism, including the HFT, is not confined to visitors who seek pilgrimage and worship but also includes visitors who come for cultural exploration or even for leisure. Continuing with mass marketing policies is relevant here as they aim mainly to make a specific product satisfactory to many people, even if not all of them are strongly and emotionally connected to it (Sert, 2017). However, there is a need to make them more consistent and focused on branding the HFT as a religious tourism destination.

For accommodation: Expanding the coverage and improving services quality of traditional hotels along the HFT, especially in the middle of UE (Minya and Asuit), to cater for the HFT tourists’ needs and support the resilience of the tourism sector. Such policies are crucial as the Relevant number of hotels in these areas is minimal, and most of them have a low quality of services (local and still under evaluation or lower than 5 stars) (MoLD, 2020). Traditional Policies hotels are relevant to this approach as they act as a means of amenities rather than a way to simulate specific culture and tradition or to expose certain environments, which are not the main objectives in this approach. The GoE can also identify models for development (lighthouses) where successful service quality is implemented and offer them incentives to oversee the implementation/ enhancement of new/existing hotels (e.g. Steigenberger hotels as leading in exquisite service and green quality.)

For transportation: Transportation policies also need to fit the objective of reaching the destination in a comfortable way. This could be done by raising the quality of existing roads leading to the HFT’s areas and investing in new roads to reduce congestion. In addition to that, high quality transportation modes (e.g., premium train lines, busses, and Nile cruises) with high quality services during the journey, need to be introduced to promote the positive experience that tourists would gain from their visit. These policies are very crucial especially in less advantaged areas like UE, where the current local transportation is not so reliable, and some tourists may be reluctant to risk experiencing it. They also need collaborative initiatives between the Ministries of Tourism, Local Development, and Transportation.

For marketing: A. Given the very competitive marketplace, there is a need for consistent promotional campaigns to attract consumers and this would depend on the availability of funds. B. The attractiveness of the place would not last for too long, as indicated in the TALCM discussed earlier.

For accommodation and transportation: Constrains on A. Businessmen can be reluctant to risk investing in areas in UE other than Luxor and Policies Aswan unless propitious incentives are provided. B. Security arrangements for foreigners visiting local areas in UE can jeopardize the process, thus, due coordination for simpler procedures with the Ministry of Interior needs to be attained. C. Investments and partnerships with relevant stakeholders can reach a deadlock if no win-win situations were guaranteed. D. The proximity from the locations of accommodation and transportation services to the HFT locations is not guaranteed.

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 24 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 4. Policy Alternatives and Recommendations

It has high feasibility given the current focus on infrastructure investment in Egypt, the focus on mass marketing in promotion strategies, and the primary intensions of Political continuing the development of the HFT project. However, this would depend on the Feasibility availability of necessary funds and the success of collaborative initiatives, especially with the private sector.

Policy Alternative (2): Introducing the Holy Family Trail as a ‘Culturally Meaningful Destination’

This alternative could be considered as a fully integrated framework for branding the HFT as a niche tourist destination, incorporating both material practices and symbolistic meaning. This approach places more weight on the intangible heritage Brief behind the existence of the HFT, along with the tangible one, and considers it as an Description end in itself available for consumption, rather than just an input for increasing its appeal to tourists.

A. It places a large weight on the cultural, historical, and religious backgrounds of the HFT that are the main factors behind its existence and could be consumed by tourists on their own. Emphasizing this intangible heritage acts as an instrument for setting up the place in tourists’ mind. B. It is driven with a special sense of care about the environment, community-driven responses towards cultural heritages, and even a desire for self-improvement. C. It increases the awareness of local communities about their history and heritage, enables them to see themselves in a more potent way, and enhances their Advantages involvement in tourism policies. D. Relying on the fact that the intangible heritage is more likely to be more unique than the tangible one, this approach exposes the tourism sector to less competition, as it is based on the idea that the place is unique and distinct by nature. Hence, less resources need to be devoted to consistent marketing. E. It attracts consumers who are too loyal and emotionally connected to the place they visit, which makes tourism to this place resilient to economic ups and downs and enables policy makers to serve their needs better.

A. It usually targets only a small market segment, which is more likely to be connected to the place. This makes it relatively risky, especially at the early stages of its Disadvantages implementation. B. It misses the economies of scale due to its limited focus.

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For marketing: Given that this approach places a large weight on the intangible heritage and targets tourists who are strongly connected to the place, it could be seen as based on the idea that the visitors of the HFT come mainly for pilgrimage and worship purposes. In this case, marketing policies need to be designed in a way that increases the international awareness of the spiritual and historical value of the place. Here, the adoption of niche marketing policies tailored to brand the HFT as a unique niche destination, mainly for Cristian pilgrims is relevant. This is because niche marketing policies aim at creating a base of loyal customers by making a niche product highly appealing to a specific group of people whose needs have not yet been met (Sert, 2017).

For accommodation Ecolodges’ supply could be introduced along the HFT. Such policy is considered as a tool for implementing a comprehensive niche tourism model where different and relevant types can coexist along the trail, especially in culturally rich areas in UE that lack the necessary accommodation. This idea could be sponsored by interested businessmen or individual entrepreneurs, and with the technical support of the World Bank. Such policy is also relevant here as ecolodges are sustainable and responsible to local Relevant communities’ culture and resources. An example of this is the New Hermopolis in Tunah Policies Al Jabal in Minya, founded and owned by Dr. Mervat Nasser. Her New Hermopolis incorporates pesticide-free farming, ecological architecture and hospitality, tangible and intangible heritage, cultural activities and festivals, handicrafts and personnel staff totally employed from Tuna Al Jabal. Moreover, the establishment of ecolodges in UE areas across the HFT can incorporate the agriculture and featuring of local food. More than 400 products of 8 different categories were identified as Egyptian Terroir food products. Almost 3/1 of these food products are in UE governorates, where almost %75 of them are distributed in governorates other than Luxor and Aswan (UNIDO, 2020).

For transportation Same transportation policies as the first approach are applicable here. However, the way they are implemented should ensure that they enable tourists to expose unique transport experiences, added-value experience, or intrinsic attraction of transport itself (Haal, 2005). This highly depends on the proximity of transportation to the locations of the HFT areas, the suitability of the environment in which the transportation lines would pass through, and to what extent services provided during the journey support the spiritual nature of the place (e.g., types of food provided, music played, etc.).

For marketing: Niche marketing requires the destination to be fully developed in terms of accommodation, infrastructure, transportation, etc. Government policies need to be designated to stimulate private investments along the HFT, particularly in UE. It Constrains requires great investment in know-how for securing the destination›s brand and its uniqueness and requires also a highly trained personnel staff.

For accommodation and transportation: Same constraints as the first approach are applicable.

It depends on the availability of funds needed for investing in the development of the areas along the HFT, especially with the current situation of the COVID19- pandemic and its repercussions. It also depends on the willingness and incentives provided to Political the private sector and individual entrepreneurs in investing in such ecolodges and Feasibility the relevant transportation modes. However, if these funds were available, this investment would come with great benefits in the long run, after the branding of the HFT is accomplished.

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Policy Alternative (3): Introducing the Holy Family Trail as a ‘Place’s Narratives’

Same description as the second approach is applicable. However, the link between Brief the tangible and intangible heritage of the HFT would be developed mainly through the power of narratives of place, people, and culture, created and circulated through Description proper marketing tools.

In addition to the advantages of the second approach, this approach A. Appreciates the dynamic nature of the intangible heritage that is constructed over time by means of the shared language and symbolic meaning. B. Helps understand the cultural background of the place and enhances the local heritage starting from the lived space shared by the dwellers. C. Has a great power in forming the meaning and value of the place in the mind Advantages of both the local communities and tourists and turning the place into a unique tourism destination. D. Relates the marketing of a place to the consumption experience (e.g., narratives generated from tourists who experienced the place could encourage more tourists to visit it).

Disadvantages of the second approach are applicable here as well. Disadvantages

For marketing: Same policies as the second approach are relevant. However, the focus should be on spoken and visual media (e.g., TV advertisements with relevant pictures, online guided tours, highly trained tourist guides on place telling, adoption of place telling tools like PlacetellingR in Cape Verde, and indirect marketing through stories shared by former tourists), along with the written ones (e.g., documents, brochures etc.). These tools could be employed to provide tourists with narratives on different aspects of the Holy Related Family journey, emphasizing the meanings and values relevant to branding the place Policies as a unique religious destination.

For accommodation and transportation: Same policies as the second approach are applicable. However, narrative tools could be employed in activities held in ecolodges that are close to the HFT’s attractions, in addition to employing such tools in different means of transportation that the HFT’s tourists use.

A. Considerable investments in human capital are needed in order to qualify tourists and other relevant workers to act as narrators of places and culture in relevant Constraints areas along the HFT. This could be done by organizing intensive training courses and workshops and inviting international experts in this field to lecture in them. B. Considerable investment is also required in the fields of know-how and communication and information technology.

Political Feasible as long as such funds are available. Feasibility

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 27 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 4. Policy Alternatives and Recommendations

4.2 Assessment of Policy Alternatives

Below is the scoring of the suggested alternatives based on economic and technical criteria.

Sub Criteria Policy Alternative I Policy Alternative II Policy Alternative III Criteria Weight Points10 Assessment Criteria Explanation (1-10) =pts*weight Points Assessment Points Assessment

Direct and indirect Costs costs expected to 25% 7 175 7 175 6 150 be incurred by the Economic government

Criteria Long-term revenues Benefits expected on the 25% 7 175 8 200 7 175 economy

Extent to which Effectiveness suggested policy Technical alternatives Criteria interventions likely to 25% 6 150 7 175 7 175 solve the imbedded challenges hindering tourism sustainability in Egypt

Whether resources Technical and technical know- Feasibility how are required for 25% 6 175 6 150 6 150 the implementation of the policy alternative exist

Total Score 100% 675 700 650

Table 2: Policy Alternatives Scoring. Source: By authors

4.3 Policy Recommendations

Building on the above analysis of policy alter- ism model, so that narrative-based marketing natives, the culturally meaningful destination tools could be implemented. The reason be- is the most fitting policy framework given that hind the selection of this model is the belief it would address the particularly unique na- that tourism should be reintroduced as an ture of destinations across selected areas in integrated package that aims at introducing UE across the HFT appealing to the target au- tourists not only to the tangible heritage of dience of spiritual devotees among Christian the place they visit, but also with the intangi- pilgrims from all over the world. At the same ble one behind its foundation. time, many efforts are needed to enhance the development of such an integrated tour-

10 On a scale from 10-1, where 10 is the highest.

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 28 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 4. Policy Alternatives and Recommendations Based on the selected approach, the following It is worth mentioning that such policies will policies are recommended in the aspects of help not only to attract Christian pilgrims but marketing, accommodation, and transporta- also attract further segments such as the ‘off tion. Particularly, these policies aim to trans- the path cultural aficionado’ (cultural tourists form the areas along the trail to fully-fledged with special interests in tangible and intangi- developed areas that can convene tourists ble aspects at tourism destinations), special and make them strongly attached to the place: interest adventurers, who have a passion for discovering unknown cultures, local escapists A. Given the fact that the policies of the de- who often have budget constraints to meet velopment of the Holy Family Trail have but are open to discovering new areas, and fe- started to take place recently, since 2014, male explorers, who are financially indepen- this trail could be considered a relative- dent but would like to have the experience ly new niche tourism product in Egypt. In of a lifetime provided safety aspects are well- addition, Egypt mainly targets Christian met) (MoLD, 2020). pilgrims all over the world to this trail. Building on these two points, marketing To ensure that these policies are adopted strategies need to be tailored to make in an effective and innovative approach, it Christians introduced to this specific niche is recommended to: product, which makes a niche marketing approach more reasonable. However, in- A. Adopt cooperation rather than traditional tensive efforts are needed to transform service agreements with the private sec- the areas along the trail to fully-fledged tor, via technically sound distribution of developed areas that are able to gather responsibilities between main parties. This tourists and make them strongly attached approach is cost friendly and allows for a to the place. In addition, marketing policies participatory technical consultation where need also to target establishing the brand the government can also still steer the pro- of the HFT in tourists’ mind by the narra- cess but encourage a higher technical and tives-based marketing tools discussed financial support from the development earlier. Nevertheless, the development of partners and the private sector. such tools might need some time as it re- quires large investments in know-how and B. Design tailored programs to address the human capital. skills gap in the tourism services sector will remain crucial, with the objective of B. Incentives need to be provided to the pri- having tourism education graduates with vate sector, local communities, and individ- skills matching the labor market demand ual entrepreneurs in order to increase the in the services sector at UE. This calls in ecolodging supply coverage along the HFT. introducing a partnership agreement with In addition, transportation policies need institutions/countries in hotel and service to be implemented in a way that ensures management. Tthe model of applied tech- that they enable tourists to expose unique nological schools currently implemented transport experiences, added-value expe- in some firms as in-house learning - envi rience, or intrinsic attraction of transport ronments can be of good reference, for itself. the short run. On the long run, collabo- ration with the Ministry of Education and C. Finally, the focus on Minya to Assiut gov- Technical Education needs to be analyzed ernorates could potentially take an advan- to agree on the objectives for tourism tage of the abundant monuments in the schools’ graduates. region, while also balancing the demand at Aswan and Luxor and other leisure tour- ism regions spots at Southern Sinai, Cairo, and Alexandria. Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 29 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 4. Policy Alternatives and Recommendations An implementation plan per recommended policy option is suggested in the below table, where objective indicators, milestones, key activities, suggested timeline, and relevant stakeholders are presented.

4.3.1 Implementation Plan

Objective Main Activity To be completed by Responsible Supported by Available Milestone June 21-Dec 22 Indicator Packages Stakeholders Resources J S D M J S D Establish a taskforce of interested international development and national owners on establishing a joint reform strategy and plan (World Bank, MoTA, MoLD & other relevant experts on the topic). - Existing The technical model on Identify business setup for Plan for the ecolodges in enhancement of associations interested in increasing investing in establishing a Minya accommodation the tourism chain of ecolodges across MoLD MoTA - Technical revenues services in the Holy Family Trail in UE. Tourism World Bank staff at MoLD for selected selected areas Development Central Bank and MoTA areas in UE in UE alongside Identify financial Authority of Egypt - Potential alongside the the Holy Family incentives for the cooperation Holy Family Trail has been attraction of investors. funds from Trail has been completed Design attractive development completed touristic packages partners that compile aspects of gastro, community, cultural/heritage and agro-based tourism.

Design a map for the potential spots where introduction of eco- based lodges would be suitable.

Form a taskforce with interested parties including (Ministry of Transportation including, private bus companies such as Go Bus, Blue Bus, Ministry of SWVL, travel associations Transportation Plan for the offering prime Nile cruise Federation of trips, religious tourism enhancement of Tourism experts, marketing Nile cruises transportation Private Sector: personnel, Public and services in Bus company Formulate a clear mini MoLD private selected areas owners and operational plan, with transportation in UE alongside nile cruise varying options matching Technical Staff the Holy Family owners middle- and upper-income in Ministries Trail has been citizens, locally and River completed internationally. Transport General Formulate a clear mini Authority operational plan, with varying options matching middle- and upper- income citizens, locally and internationally.

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 30 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB 4. Policy Alternatives and Recommendations

Formulate a partnership agreement with the selected transportation company, with clear funding and technical responsibilities.

Forming a specialized taskforce to assess the current situation of the areas and the archeological sites along the Holy Family Trail.

Prioritizing the areas to start with in UE between Minya and Assiut. Assuit and Ensuring the necessary Minya funds for their Tailored Governorates development and Marketing and and local renovation. promotion plan municipalities for selected Selecting a marketing Tourism Marketing areas across agency for the Promotion MoTA experts assignment. the HFT in UE Authority MoLD Religious as a culturally Identifying the main and tourism meaningful the potential targeted experts destination has tourists (domestically National and been identified and internationally). international tourism influencers Conducting an intensive market research to identify their needs and preferences.

Kicking off the branding of the Holy Family Trail and increasing the awareness of its unique value as a culturally meaningful destination domestically then internationally.

Table 3: Proposed Implementation Plan. Source: By authors

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Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 39 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB Appendix

Appendix 1: Types of Niche Tourism in Egypt

Segment Description Current Development Status in Egypt

Eco-Tourism is one type of tour- Natural reserves or protected areas have been devel- ism that aims to focus on enjoy- oped in Egypt since the 1980’s, where they are all sub- ing the natural environment in ject to the supervision of the Ministry of Environment. the sea, mountains, and deserts. Among the most famous of these are Ras Muhammad Egypt has several rare environ- Reserve, Nabq Reserve, St. Catherine Reserve, Taba mental sites that attract visitors Reserve in Sinai, Jabal Elba Reserve in Halayeb, Wadi all over the world. Natural re- El Rayan and Lake Qarun in Fayoum, Elba Protected serves or protected areas have Area in Halayeb, Petrified Forest in Cairo, Alexandria Ecotourism been developed in Egypt since Aquarium, etc. (Elnagar & Derbali, 2020). Recently, the 1980’s. the Ministry of Environment in collaboration with the Ministries of Tourism and Antiquities and Mass Media launched the first ecotourism promotion campaign “ECO Egypt” last September from Ras Muhammad Re- serve to support ecotourism in Egypt. This campaign aims to promote 13 natural reserves in Egypt for in- troducing them as eco-friendly tourism destinations and is expected to last for two years, according to Dr. Yasmine Fouad, the Minister of Environment, in her interview with Al-Gomhourya Newspaper in Jan 7th, 2021.

It entails both medical tourism, For medical tourism, Egypt has many constituents which addresses poor health, that enable it to compete as a medical tourism desti- and wellness tourism, which nation; however, it has below 0.7% of the world share addresses extending lifestyle (Zaki, 2017). Currently, Egypt hosts around 150,000 wellness. Egypt has several inter- tourists seeking medical treatment every year from all nationally accredited hospitals over the world, mainly patients from Arab and African and clinics that provide medical countries, European countries, and East Asian coun- treatment at affordable prices tries (SIS, 2017, March 23). Health Tourism compared to other destinations On top of possessing the required competencies, the (EG-GATE, n.a.a). Also, Egypt Egyptian governorate has launched different initia- possesses the required ecologi- tives to promote medical tourism. This includes “Tour cal environment. The estimated n Cure” campaign focusing on Hepatitis C, acknowl- number of springs all over Egypt edged by WHO, where it offered tourists an affordable reached 1356, in addition to des- tourist package that covered their travel costs and a erts and oases areas (SIS, 2017, one-week stay, out of the 3 months’ worth of treat- March 23). ment, at a five-star hotel, while touring in the country’s landmarks (Bower, July 2017).

Many tourists come to Egypt The Egyptian government has exerted diverse efforts to enjoy its Jewish, Coptic, and to promote religious tourism in the past 20 years. Islamic sites that are spread Both the ministry of tourism and ministry of culture throughout its monuments and have begun restoring several historical religious sites Religious sanctuaries. since 2000 (Galal, 2005). The government launched a Tourism tourism initiative to promote the tourism of the Holy Family in Egypt, carrying out extensive renovations in old Cairo. Moreover, the ministry of tourism initiated a program targeted at Shia pilgrimage, where they have also spent EGP 12 million on a walking tour

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project linking Islamic shrines associated with mem- bers of prophet Muhammad’s family (Galal, 2005). In the past 5 years, the GoE refocused its efforts toward reviving the HFT in Egypt covering their 25 destina- tions.

Meetings, incentive, conventions, Different centers in Cairo, Alexandria, Sharm El- and exhibitions catering to na- Sheikh, Hurghada, Ismailia, Luxor, and Aswan, as tional, regional, and international these centers are well equipped with state-of-the-art events. MICE tourism is consid- technical facilities. Egypt Exposition and Convention ered a major component of busi- Authority (EECA) is one sector of the Ministry of Trade ness travel and tourism in Egypt; and Industry and is the responsible authority for or- it grew by 37% between 2007 ganizing and hosting different meetings, conferences, and 2014, reaching a 54% market events, and exhibitions inside and outside Egypt. Re- share (Abdelkafy & Hizah, 2016). cently, Egypt has shown honorable performance in Egypt has a strong infrastructure hosting and organizing many international conferenc- in several sports such as foot- es and exhibitions such as Cairo International Book ball, handball, volleyball, squash, Fair, Davos Economic Forum in Sharm El-Sheikh, the MICE Tourism equestrian, golf, marine sports National Conference on Population and the African and hunting, bowling, which at- Summit, the World Economic Forum on the Middle tracts many domestic and inter- East in 2010, etc. (Abdelkafy & Hizah, 2016). The most national visitors (SIS, 2016, Feb- important sports tourism sites are Al-Gezira Horse ruary 21). Riding Club, Shooting Club and the sports clubs in the Red Sea area and the water sports clubs in Hurgha- da and Sharm el-Sheikh. The Golf Tourism in Egypt is slightly new and attracts many amateur tourists all over the world. Egypt has a total number of 50 golf clubs, ten of them entitled “Professional Golfers› As- sociation (GPA)”, which led Egypt to be selected to host the Italy Championship finals in Al Ein Al Sokhna in 2006 (SIS, 2016, February 21). In 2019, Egypt host- ed 7 events including: The African Cup of Nations for football, the World Squash Cup, as well as the World Cup for Diving, the Beach Volleyball World Cup, the Junior Women Volleyball Championship, the Mediter- ranean Handball Championship, and finally the Arab Golf Championship (Masrawy, 2019).

Community-based tourism (CBT) There are different CBT programs across different re- is a subtype of sustainable tour- gions that were piloted to promote it. ism that aims to engage the local people in contributing to the de- In Southern Sinai, at the St. Catherine Protectorate, a velopment of rural areas. program with the Bedouin Community began in 1996. The Dahshur Project in Giza started in 2009 and end- Community ed in 2013. The location of the project is abundant with heritage sites, local communities, handicrafts Based tourism and even an old pyramid. The project was funded (CBT) with over EGP Million 54 in infrastructure and visitors’ centers investment in addition to loan facilitation to encourage the locals to start their own small projects (El Barmelgy et al., 2019).

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 41 THE PUBLIC POLICY HUB Appendix

Other initiatives have been introduced either from lo- cal communities to promote CBT or entrepreneurs.

• In 2015, the local Bedouin tribes in Sinai launched the Sinai Trail that aimed at attracting tourists to hike in Sinai and changing the common stereo- type that Sinai is a danger zone for tourists (Abdu- laal, 2020, July 19). • In 2007, The New Hermopolis, an entrepreneurial natural lodging founded at Tunah Al Jabal in Minya in 2007. The motivation behind it is to reinforce tourism as a full-fledged package that aims at in- troducing tourists not only with the tangible heri- tage of the place they visit, but also with the intan- gible one behind its foundation (e.g., intellectual, historical, traditional, and social heritage, etc.).

It is a form of niche tourism that Egypt has more than typical (Terroir) food products involves experiencing local food excluding recipes, where almost 1/3 of Egyptian typi- either as the main purpose of cal food products are found in UE governorates (UNI- the journey or at least among its DO, 2020). main components This tourism segment is not yet full-fledged. However, some individualistic efforts emerged including “Bellies En-Route” a culinary tourism start-up, “Visit Badrash- in” a development program/initiative and “Cairo Bites” which is one of the biggest food festivals (Elmoghazy Gastro Tourism & Omar, 2016).

Table 4: Details on Niche Tourism Segments in Egypt. Source: By authors

Post COVID19- Tourism: Promoting the Holy Family Trail as a Niche Religious Tourism Destination 42

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