Egypt Integrated Management of Cultural Tourism (USAID) Egypt

What

The “Integrated Management of Cultural Tourism” (IMCT) activity is a four-year contract (November 1, 2020 – October 31, 2025, inclusive of one-year option) funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) that focuses on sustainably growing cultural tourism in Egypt. The tourism sector is one of the key economic drivers of growth and employment in Egypt. USAID is supporting the Government of Egypt (GOE)’s efforts, through the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (MoTA), to enhance Egypt’s competitiveness as a tourism destination. This activity builds on prior investments by USAID, the GOE, and other donors in the preservation of cultural heritage and promotion of sustainable tourism. IMCT is geographically focused on Historic Cairo (Medieval Cairo) and the Luxor Governorate.

Implemented by FHI 360 and supported by SW Associates and other sub-contractors, IMCT is focused on creating an enabling environment for the sustainable management of Egypt’s cultural heritage. Different models of partnerships and stakeholder participation in the management of cultural assets have been tested and institutionalized.

The overarching objectives of IMCT are to increase tourism revenues and local economic benefits for surrounding communities, including increased employment and business opportunities, in the cultural tourism sector at targeted destinations. The four results of the IMCT are:
• IR1- Consolidation and reinforcement of GOE efforts to improve the enabling regulatory environment for investment in sustainable cultural heritage tourism; consolidated/reinforced.
• IR2- Selected cultural heritage sites rehabilitated and financially sustainable.
• IR3- Higher value-added tourism products and services developed at target destinations; and,
• IR4- Capacity to promote cultural tourism in target destinations enhanced.

SW Associates’ activities on the project are in support of IR4.

Activities & Services:

Developed cultural tourism, marketing, and branding materials for Historic Cairo and Luxor to help expand tourism, including Historic Cairo branding workshops and five focus groups with Egyptian stakeholders. 

Collaborated with private sector specialists in brand creation, marketing, and social media promotion.

Specific activities included:

• Benchmarking of cultural tourism success stories in multiple countries.
• Comprehensive review of marketing and promotional materials for international cultural tourism operators.
• Conducted generating market analysis with operators from the USA, Germany, France, UK, Spain, Italy, Saudi Arabia, India and the Egypt (domestic market).  Developed visitor profiles for these markets.
• Created marketing plan and strategy for increasing visitors to Historic Cairo.
• Created communications strategy and key stories for cultural tourism experiences in Historic Cairo.
• Conducting social media training for Egyptian travel influencers.
• Proposed tourism sustainability standards for Historic Cairo microenterprise.

Results:

• Benchmarking Reports on Egypt, Greece, India, Morocco, Turkey, and the USA.
• Reports for Comparative Analysis of Key Generating Market Tour Operators (France, UK, Germany, USA, Switzerland, and Japan).
• Reports for Comparative Analysis of Emerging Market Tour Operators (China, India, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and pre-war Ukraine).
• Cultural Tourism Marketing Strategies for Historic Cairo & Luxor
• Branding concepts and sample materials for Historic Cairo with spirited stakeholder feedback.
• Phase I Communications Plan to Establish Historic Cairo and Luxor as Cultural Experience Destinations
• Study on Tourism Sustainability Quality Certification Programs
• Established a generating market database of 200+ tour operators offering Egypt
• Travel influencer social media training for 30 Egyptian influencers resulting in over 200,000 views of videos and images about Historic Cairo (as of July 2023).