Earlier in March, when news of an Egyptian law that would bar visa on arrivals at the airport, the cries of small tourism business owners became loud enough for people to take notice of a market segment that is rarely spoken of.
It was a cry out loud enough to question who are the actual beneficiaries of the government’s efforts to boost tourism and who remain the underdogs of the industry? In a three-part series on the website, StepFeed investigates: Can Egyptian small tourism businesses withstand another blow?
In a different realm of the hospitality industry is Mateegi, a startup that organizes unconventional tailored trips for travelers who want to experience the diversity of Egypt.
Having kicked off in 2013, Mohamed El Fouly, founder of Mateegi, didn’t have an elaborate take on how the industry may have changed. It was already quivering in a downward curve when he started.
Even though the entire industry was suffering, the scenario was “catastrophic” for the small camp and guesthouse owners who didn’t have enough money to invest in advertising.
And so, Fouly tours Egypt, reviewing and rating lodgings along the way. These randomly selected reviews serve two purposes. On one hand, he makes sure that the lodgings he includes in the Mateegi trips provide good service, and on the other hand, he helps the owners spread the word about their lodgings.
Unlike other players of the smaller tourism sector, joining the industry in the post-revolution years worked to Fouly’s benefit.
“The way I review camps or lodgings is random. As I drive across Egypt, I stop by any place without any prior notice or reservation, and that way I am sure that whatever service I receive is honest,” Fouly says, explaining that this random process was facilitated greatly by the down cycle of tourism, which almost always guarantees he’ll find vacancies.
According to Fouly, Mateegi works with a mixture between Egyptians and foreigners. Nevertheless, he believes that if tourism is to pick up anytime soon, Egyptian tourists will be essential to the revival of the industry.
“Most Egyptians are quite rigid about their concept of travel, limiting it solely to the high seasons, which are the main national holidays, as well as certain spots,” Fouly says, adding that locals are not flexible enough to try new experiences.
Even when he comes across Egyptians who are willing to venture on a new experience, they usually set unrealistic expectations, thus resulting in rather negative feedback.
“Unlike foreign tourists, Egyptians rarely ever plan ahead. They figure out their trip as it unfolds.”
“I had an idea to start a campaign that aims at raising awareness among Egyptians on the different types of tourism domestically,” Fouly says, “but getting through to any official front that could help was almost impossible.”
In addition to the lack of awareness among Egyptians, the other major obstacle for Fouly is commuting across Egypt.
“If domestic flights are cheaper, tourism in Egypt will witness a lot of change,” he says, pointing out problems with the maintenance of highway roads.
Having commuted across almost all of Egypt by land, Fouly rejects the notion that foreign tourists feel unsafe in Egypt.
“The only comments I got regarding security were usually in Cairo. But as far as it goes for other cities, tourists seem to feel quite secure, which sometimes goes against their expectations.”
As Fouly tours Egypt, he meets a lot of lodging owners whose businesses have been severely harmed in the past years, but who nevertheless retain a hopeful outlook that things will look up, and that tourism will flourish once more.
Part I: A Small Hotel Business Struggles in Downtown Cairo
Part II: An Eco-Lodge Entrepreneur Turns to Music Festivals in Upper Egypt