INTERVIEW: Egyptian tourism worker woes

INTERVIEW: Egyptian tourism worker woes

Egypt's tourism industry has been dealt a series of heavy blows in recent years. The latest was the Covid-19 outbreak, which resulted in the country freezing its inbound and outbound commercial flights between March and July.

Tourism receipts dropped 11.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 followed by a painful 90 per cent decline in the second quarter.

While the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) offered Egypt its Safe Travel Stamp designed to enable travellers to identify destinations and businesses that adopt the WTTC's hygiene and safe travel protocols, the sector is still suffering from a host of challenges.  

Bassem Halaqa, chairman of the Tourism Syndicate, spoke to Al-Ahram Weekly about the problems facing workers in Egypt's tourism sector.

Who are the members of the Tourism Syndicate?

The syndicate accepts the membership of workers in hotels, tourism companies, authorities, and restaurants. Graduates and undergraduates of tourism and hotel schools, institutes, and faculties, even those who have graduated and have not found a job, are still affiliated to the syndicate. When they land a job, they move up in the ranks in the syndicate. Tour guides, however, belong to the Tourist Guide Syndicate.

Does the syndicate