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Eco-Tourism with Social

Dimension

Eco-Tourism with Social

Dimension

Make Tourism Work for

Sustainable Development

Make Tourism Work for

Sustainable Development

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ECO-TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

BENEFITS

• Valuation and preservation of natural heritage

• Valuation and preservation of cultural heritage

• Economic empowerment of the local

population through direct participation in

generated local economic activities

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Ecotourism in Egypt

• National strategy (diversification of tourism products)

• Not applied – not well understood

• Very few examples:

• Basata Camp – South Sinai

• El Karm Ecolodge St. Katherine – South Sinai

• Siwa Ecolodges – Marsa Matruh

• Desert Lodge Dakhla – Wadi Gedid

• Nature Camp Bahreya – Wadi Gedid

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Unutilized Potential1) Ecotourism is a new type of tourism in Egypt• Lack of understanding of market demand• Non existing market supply

2) Lacking Management and Coordination• Inventory of Resources• Management of resources

• Coordination and planning

• Stakeholder involvement

3) No Integration of Local Communities• Local capture of tourism revenues

• Capacity building• Strengthening of local networks

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The Fayoum

Oasis 90 km south of Cairo

Linked to the Nile through a canal

2 Lakes: Lake Qarun and WadiRayan

3 characteristic landscapes: rural, desert, wetlands

2 Million Inhabitants

Governorate has one of lowest per capita incomes in Egypt

Low literacy and school enrollment rates

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FAYOUM ASSETS

• Desert Tourism – sand, geology, world paleontology

• Nature Tourism – the flight of the birds

• Culture Tourism – the voice of the monuments

• Rural Tourism – the hands of the craftsman

• More Tourism – ancient irrigation and

traditional agriculture

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PROJECT OBJECTIVES

•• To contribute to sustainable development and To contribute to sustainable development and

poverty reduction though generation of Ecopoverty reduction though generation of Eco--

tourism based economic activities undertaken tourism based economic activities undertaken

by the local population.by the local population.

•• To transform environmental, social and cultural To transform environmental, social and cultural

resources and heritage of resources and heritage of FayoumFayoum into into

sustainable economic assets.sustainable economic assets.

•• To tap the fast growing international To tap the fast growing international

ecotourism market ecotourism market

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PROBLEMS TO BE ADDRESSED

• Limited human resources capacity to meet

the requirements of eco-tourism

• Marginal economic benefits for local

population from Egypt maintream tourism

• Deterioration of the fragile environment

• Limited enforcement of existing

conservation and environmental policy

• Limited human resources capacity to meet

the requirements of eco-tourism

• Marginal economic benefits for local

population from Egypt maintream tourism

• Deterioration of the fragile environment

• Limited enforcement of existing

conservation and environmental policy

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STRATEGY

• To develop local public and private capacity to design, implement and manage eco-tourism services.

• To support the development of a satisfying win-win relationship between tourists and local communities.

• To facilitate the creation of tourism based economic activities led by the local population in Fayoum

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STAKEHOLDERS

• Local communities

• Local, national and international businesses

• Representatives of governmental agencies

• Bilateral and international agencies

• Tourists

• Future generations

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KEY ACTIVITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL CAPACITY

• Skill development and business training for Eco-

tourism

• Creation of Eco-activity centers

• Integration of Eco-tourism activities with

Protected Area Management

• Support to creation and or enhancement of local

shops, tour services and handicraft producers

and linkages to emerging markets

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KEY ACTIVITIES FOR MARKET

DEVELOPMENT

• Development and implementation of strategies

to market Fayoum (& Egypt) as an Eco-tourism

destination

• Support growth of pilot Eco-tourism tours and

design of new local cultural products/events

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RESPONSE OF THE MARKET

• Very positive feedback of tour participants

• 35 out of 40 international tour companies interested, Viaggi Solidali (CTS), an Italian has already fielded trips in 2004 and 2005

• Designed tours could be taken over by private sector, if major remaining challenges are addressed: site management, security management, infrastructure and services

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RESPONSE OF LOCAL

POPULATION• High motivation and willingness to learn

• Fast skills acquisition in the areas of nature

guiding and foreign language speaking

• Substantial personal investments in building new

and attractive pottery outlets, purchase of

communication tools

• Major investment in the building and operation of

a rural lodge in the village of Tunis

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RESPONSE OF THE LOCAL

POPULATIONPrivate local investments

Local small scale investments in tourism related businesses

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FUTURE ACTION FROM LOCAL

POPULATION

Reinforce the development of a core of ecotourism professionals through the creation of a specialized non governmental organization

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RESPONSE FROM

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

• First licenses for desert tour guides issued on temporary basis

• Visible improvement at the security gate of the North entrance of Fayoum governorate

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Further Development Potential

Establishment of tourism development plan for

Governorate

Integrated management of protected areas and

cultural heritage sites

Provide support to local small scale businesses

Capacity building at different levels

Better capture of tourism revenues

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FUTURE ACTIONS NEEDED FROM

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

• Formalize the licensing procedures of local ecotourism guides

• Allocate resources and authority for management of sensitive sites such as Whale Valley and Djebel Qatrani

• Allocate resources to enhance management of antiquity sites such as Qasr Qarun, Dimeh, Hawara…

• Facilitate less intrusive security management for tourism with Security Department

• Allocation of resources to implement a solid waste management system in Nazla

• Allocate financial resources for information signage for tourismareas

• Support effective cross sectoral coordination of key governemtnal agencies

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Theme no 1: Experience the desert – hiking and camel trekking in Wadi Rayan

Do you know that you can follow the traces

of Alexander the Great on a camel in

Fayoum?

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Theme no 2: Geology/Paleontology/Culture – interpretative tours to world heritage areas

Do you know that there are whales

in the desert?

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Theme no 3: Birdwatching

Do you know that you can get

close to the birds in Fayoum?

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Theme no 4: Handicrafts/pottery – Nazla and Tunis

Do you know

where to find

the famous

Fayoumi

pottery

makers?

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Fayoum Ecotourism Project: ecotourismfayoum@nsce-inter.com

The Fayoum: History and Guide. Neil Hewison.

AUC Press, 2001.

Egypt’s Pocket Guide: The Fayoum and Wadi el

Rayan. Alberto Siliotti. AUC Press, 2003.

Official website of the Wadi Rayan Protected Area:

http://www.wadielrayan.org/index.htm

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THANK YOU