Promoting Tourism through Decent Work in Egypt

HURGHADA (ILO News) – “Improving competitiveness of the Tourism Sector through Decent Work Conditions” in Egypt, an International Labour Organization (ILO) project funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, Canada (DFTAD), conducted 19 workshops to train 365 young men and women in 72 hotels of the Red Sea Governorate.

H.E. General Ahmed Abdullah, Governor of Red Sea, Peter Van Rooi, Director of the ILO Cairo Office and Mr. Aly Khan Rajani, Counsellor- Head of Cooperation at the Embassy of Canada – DFTAD, attended an official ceremony to honor and distribute certificates to 25 young Egyptians who completed the training.

The key purpose of these trainings aimed to introduce the ILO electronic learning tool that promotes best practice by covering 75 measures of occupational safety and health in the tourism sector. The tool contains 10 interactive learning modules that include wages and benefits, equality and discrimination prevention, and international standards in occupational safety and health. The modules also include broader topics relevant to the tourism industry such as the hospitality industry, globalization and competitiveness, service quality, and smart environmental management.

“Tourism is globally one of the key and fast growing vital sectors. It is among the top job creating sectors due to its labour- intensive nature and the large multiplier effect it has on employment in other related sectors”, emphasized Peter Van Rooij, in his opening remarks.

In Egypt, the tourism sector supports almost 2.8 million jobs (11.8 per cent of employment) and contributes to over EGP 200 billion annually.

The training activities aimed at strengthening the skills of tourism workers in order to enhance both the competitiveness and quality of Egypt’s tourism sector, Van Rooij underscored.

A message further echoed by Mr. Aly Khan Rajani, Counsellor and Head of (DFATD) Canada in Egypt, who underlined that the Red Sea Governorate is a popular tourism destination both internationally and domestically, attracting almost 10 million tourists annually. For this reason, Canada is committed to the enhancement and development of Egypt’s tourism sector.

Tourism for Egypt’s sustainable development

The goal of Canada's international development programme in Egypt is to help the country in achieving sustainable development– socially, economically and environmentally, highlighted Mr. Aly Khan Rajani with a focus on “Decent Jobs for Egypt’s Young People Project”, that aim to increase young people’s, both male and female, employability, productivity and incomes as a means of supporting Egypt’s goals for development.

H.E. General Ahmed Abdullah emphasized, on his part, the importance of ILO training provided for hotels with a view of promoting tourism quality and service. The Egyptian Senior Official stated the significance of monitoring and evaluation of these training programs.

“There is a need to merge both the theoretical approach and actual practice acquired through the training programme. This shall enable us to always adjust the programme according to the trainee’s actual needs which shall be of great benefit in the forthcoming period”, he concluded.

General Ahmed Abdullah announced that coordination is underway to open a faculty of tourism and hotels in the Governorate; in addition to the coordination with Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport to establish a special training branch in the field of tourism and hotels in the Red Sea Governorate.