Enhancing Tourism in Egypt by Reaching Persons with Disabilities Announcing Competition on Accessible Tourism in the governorates of Red Sea, South Sinai, Cairo, Giza and Alexandria, 2016
In order to attract visitors who have disabilities to Egypt and raise awareness on the value of employing persons with disabilities in the tourism sector, the International Labour Organization (ILO) Cairo Office announces the Accessible Tourism Competition 2016, with the slogan “Tourism for All”. The competition is organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, the Red Sea Governorate, the Egyptian Hotel Association, and the European Network for Accessible Tourism.
Accessible tourism is an untapped potential for Egypt, due to the growing numbers of persons with disabilities and ageing populations in many developed countries and in emerging economies. This requires tourism services to be prepared to meet new demands for comfort, safety and accessibility. Guests with disabilities, seniors and families with young children all benefit from improved infrastructure and services and staff who are aware of the needs of an increasingly diverse customer base.
The first accessible tourism competition in Egypt targets hotels and tourism service providers operating in the Red Sea, South Sinai, Cairo, Giza and Alexandria governorates and invites them to compete for four prizes depending on their efforts in making their services more accessible (infrastructure, facilities and services, awareness, and staff training, etc.). The prizes include study tours to a European country that is distinguished for its tourism accessibility and membership of the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT).
Interested hotels and tourism service providers (e.g., coach tours, diving centers, boat excursions, desert safaris, spas, etc.) should send their applications to email: [email protected], before 5 pm on Monday February 29th 2015. Winners will be announced in March 2016. All information related to the competition and the application process is available on the website: http://www.accessibletourism.org.
