Egypt's Image as a Tourist Destination after the Revolution in 2011
Author: Khushdeep Singh
0 Commentries
Discussion Paper
What image do you hold of Egypt as Holiday Destination after the Revolution?
This paper is looking at how the image of Egypt changed after their revolution in 2011, what sort of image was created in the mind of the holiday makers, and what image was created in the mind of the local residents about their country. The tourist's only tend to go to destinations which have created a positive image and maintain it throughout. In contrast, the primary image is formed by actually visiting the resort in question. Insofar as choice of destination involves a certain risk, the secondary sources of information play a relevant and essential role in forming images of the alternative destination to be considered in the decision-making process (Beerli and Martin, 2004).
The paper has also looked at the background and literature of the destination image to get clear framework. "Tourism destination image has been a worthy area of researcher's investigation for nearly 30 years. Yet despite their importance and interest, destination image studies have been criticized as atheoretical and lacking a conceptual framework" (Echtner et al 1993 in Gallarza 2002). In most of the literature that has been found during the research of this paper, they have all stated that this topic needs more research done and there isn't much research done based on people's personal opinion of what they think about destination's image and how it influence them.
The cause and how the revolution started in Egypt were looked upon. The revolution in Egypt was started on 25th January and lasted for 2 weeks and 3 days, in which 846 people were killed during and 300+ after the revolution. The images shown around the world by media about what has been going on in Egypt put off people from visiting Egypt and its tourism industry was hit hard. The Embassy of British still has warnings for the British travellers, as some part of the country is still on high alert due to government buildings being attacked by Jihadist groups.
It was vital to look at the image of Egypt before the revolution to understand what image it held to the world and how it stood as to the holiday makers. Egypt's warm weather, historical tourist attraction, exotic beaches and luxurious resorts gave Egypt the positive image and was the most popular destination visited outside the Europe. Egypt was contributing $18.6 billion towards tourism in GDP before the revolution, but after it was $15.6 billion. Egypt stood as most popular destination for the British holiday makers, the government also carried out projects to create better image for the destination and create more facilities and entertainment for the visitors, even if it was expensive people still visited Egypt because of its historical Pyramids and the sun.
The effects of revolution and what image did it create for the holiday makers after, which was turning point for Egypt as a holiday destination. After the revolution the image of Egypt was affected badly as the World Economic Form ranked Egypt below countries such as Pakistan, Yemen and Chad for safety and security of the public. Egypt's image was down 10 places from last year, which is 85th out of 140 countries; visitors finding information like this could influence them not to visit Egypt and creates a negative image of Egypt in minds of visitors. (Abawai and Gubash, 2013). The tourism in Egypt fell down to 32% after the revolution, yet the Mintel reports suggested the tourism industry was on the rise again with 10,267 million visitors in 2013 and by 2022 they will receive 12,446 million. The Mintel reports has also suggested that uprising in Middle East has also created negative image for Egypt, as the countries surrounding Egypt are still likely to cause further problems for Egypt's tourism.
Egypt is one of the holiday destinations which have always held a strong positive image, but terrorism and unrest in the Middle East has always put Egypt's image down. Egypt has always faced problems with Terrorists, where only the tourists were targeted, which meant people were put off from visiting Egypt. When Egypt was seen as one of the popular destination behind US before the revolution it was hit hard when terrorists killed 88 Tourists in 2005, which created negative image for the Egypt. Egypt begins to pick up tourism and created positive image but again it fell down by the revolution in 2011 and there are still signs of unrest in Egypt till today. In order to regain its positive image, Egypt needs to start working on their infrastructure, better transport for the tourist, more hygienically practices to be carried out in handling food products, health and safety issues in buildings. Before Egypt try to make positive image it needs to get rid of all the unrest within the local economy only then it will create positive image.
Would you still visit Egypt after reading the fact that it's ranked below countries like Pakistan and Yemen, considering personal safety and only the tourists are being targeted in Egypt by Terrorists?
References
Abawi, Atia and Gubash, Charlene (2013) NBCNews: Egypt branded more dangerous for tourists than Yemen. [Online] [Accessed:09/05/2013] Available at: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/12/17285608-egypt-branded-more-dangerous-for-tourists-than-yemen?lite
Beerli Asuncion and Martin D. Josefa (2004) Factors Influencing Destination Image. [online].P. 2-6. Accessed: 09/05/2013. Available at: http://wk6kg9sd8m.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Factors+influencing+destination+image&rft.jtitle=Annals+of+Tourism+Research&rft.au=Beerli%2C+Asunci%C3%B2n&rft.au=Mart%C3%ADn%2C+Josefa+D&rft.date=2004&rft.pub=Elsevier+Ltd&rft.issn=0160-7383&rft.eissn=1873-7722&rft.volume=31&rft.issue=3&rft.spage=657&rft.epage=681&rft_id=info:doi/10.1016%2Fj.annals.2004.01.010&rft.externalDocID=doi_10_1016_j_annals_2004_01_010
Gallarza, G Marina. Saura, Gil Irene and Garcia, Calderon Haydee (2002) Destination image: towards a conceptual framework.[online]. [Accessed: 09/05/2013]. Available at: http://wk6kg9sd8m.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Destination+image&rft.jtitle=Annals+of+Tourism+Research&rft.au=Gallarza%2C+Martina+G&rft.au=Saura%2C+Irene+Gil&rft.au=Garc%C4%B1%CC%81a%2C+Hayd%C3%A9e+Calder%C3%B3n&rft.date=2002&rft.pub=Elsevier+Ltd&rft.issn=0160-7383&rft.eissn=1873-7722&rft.volume=29&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=56&rft.epage=78&rft_id=info:doi/10.1016%2FS0160-7383%2801%2900031-7&rft.externalDocID=doi_10_1016_S0160_7383_01_00031_7
What image do you hold of Egypt as Holiday Destination after the Revolution?
This paper is looking at how the image of Egypt changed after their revolution in 2011, what sort of image was created in the mind of the holiday makers, and what image was created in the mind of the local residents about their country. The tourist's only tend to go to destinations which have created a positive image and maintain it throughout. In contrast, the primary image is formed by actually visiting the resort in question. Insofar as choice of destination involves a certain risk, the secondary sources of information play a relevant and essential role in forming images of the alternative destination to be considered in the decision-making process (Beerli and Martin, 2004).
The paper has also looked at the background and literature of the destination image to get clear framework. "Tourism destination image has been a worthy area of researcher's investigation for nearly 30 years. Yet despite their importance and interest, destination image studies have been criticized as atheoretical and lacking a conceptual framework" (Echtner et al 1993 in Gallarza 2002). In most of the literature that has been found during the research of this paper, they have all stated that this topic needs more research done and there isn't much research done based on people's personal opinion of what they think about destination's image and how it influence them.
The cause and how the revolution started in Egypt were looked upon. The revolution in Egypt was started on 25th January and lasted for 2 weeks and 3 days, in which 846 people were killed during and 300+ after the revolution. The images shown around the world by media about what has been going on in Egypt put off people from visiting Egypt and its tourism industry was hit hard. The Embassy of British still has warnings for the British travellers, as some part of the country is still on high alert due to government buildings being attacked by Jihadist groups.
It was vital to look at the image of Egypt before the revolution to understand what image it held to the world and how it stood as to the holiday makers. Egypt's warm weather, historical tourist attraction, exotic beaches and luxurious resorts gave Egypt the positive image and was the most popular destination visited outside the Europe. Egypt was contributing $18.6 billion towards tourism in GDP before the revolution, but after it was $15.6 billion. Egypt stood as most popular destination for the British holiday makers, the government also carried out projects to create better image for the destination and create more facilities and entertainment for the visitors, even if it was expensive people still visited Egypt because of its historical Pyramids and the sun.
The effects of revolution and what image did it create for the holiday makers after, which was turning point for Egypt as a holiday destination. After the revolution the image of Egypt was affected badly as the World Economic Form ranked Egypt below countries such as Pakistan, Yemen and Chad for safety and security of the public. Egypt's image was down 10 places from last year, which is 85th out of 140 countries; visitors finding information like this could influence them not to visit Egypt and creates a negative image of Egypt in minds of visitors. (Abawai and Gubash, 2013). The tourism in Egypt fell down to 32% after the revolution, yet the Mintel reports suggested the tourism industry was on the rise again with 10,267 million visitors in 2013 and by 2022 they will receive 12,446 million. The Mintel reports has also suggested that uprising in Middle East has also created negative image for Egypt, as the countries surrounding Egypt are still likely to cause further problems for Egypt's tourism.
Egypt is one of the holiday destinations which have always held a strong positive image, but terrorism and unrest in the Middle East has always put Egypt's image down. Egypt has always faced problems with Terrorists, where only the tourists were targeted, which meant people were put off from visiting Egypt. When Egypt was seen as one of the popular destination behind US before the revolution it was hit hard when terrorists killed 88 Tourists in 2005, which created negative image for the Egypt. Egypt begins to pick up tourism and created positive image but again it fell down by the revolution in 2011 and there are still signs of unrest in Egypt till today. In order to regain its positive image, Egypt needs to start working on their infrastructure, better transport for the tourist, more hygienically practices to be carried out in handling food products, health and safety issues in buildings. Before Egypt try to make positive image it needs to get rid of all the unrest within the local economy only then it will create positive image.
Would you still visit Egypt after reading the fact that it's ranked below countries like Pakistan and Yemen, considering personal safety and only the tourists are being targeted in Egypt by Terrorists?
References
Abawi, Atia and Gubash, Charlene (2013) NBCNews: Egypt branded more dangerous for tourists than Yemen. [Online] [Accessed:09/05/2013] Available at: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/12/17285608-egypt-branded-more-dangerous-for-tourists-than-yemen?lite
Beerli Asuncion and Martin D. Josefa (2004) Factors Influencing Destination Image. [online].P. 2-6. Accessed: 09/05/2013. Available at: http://wk6kg9sd8m.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Factors+influencing+destination+image&rft.jtitle=Annals+of+Tourism+Research&rft.au=Beerli%2C+Asunci%C3%B2n&rft.au=Mart%C3%ADn%2C+Josefa+D&rft.date=2004&rft.pub=Elsevier+Ltd&rft.issn=0160-7383&rft.eissn=1873-7722&rft.volume=31&rft.issue=3&rft.spage=657&rft.epage=681&rft_id=info:doi/10.1016%2Fj.annals.2004.01.010&rft.externalDocID=doi_10_1016_j_annals_2004_01_010
Gallarza, G Marina. Saura, Gil Irene and Garcia, Calderon Haydee (2002) Destination image: towards a conceptual framework.[online]. [Accessed: 09/05/2013]. Available at: http://wk6kg9sd8m.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Destination+image&rft.jtitle=Annals+of+Tourism+Research&rft.au=Gallarza%2C+Martina+G&rft.au=Saura%2C+Irene+Gil&rft.au=Garc%C4%B1%CC%81a%2C+Hayd%C3%A9e+Calder%C3%B3n&rft.date=2002&rft.pub=Elsevier+Ltd&rft.issn=0160-7383&rft.eissn=1873-7722&rft.volume=29&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=56&rft.epage=78&rft_id=info:doi/10.1016%2FS0160-7383%2801%2900031-7&rft.externalDocID=doi_10_1016_S0160_7383_01_00031_7