GINZA in Egypt
The tourism industry in many nations forms one of the most important sectors because it is viewed as the most vibrant and lucrative part of the nation. The tourism industry in Egypt has come a long way, Egypt is also considered by many as one of the most prefers tourism destinations in the northern part of Africa. The country is known for its famous pyramids, deserts rides, and other activities that are only unique to the nation. Sustainable tourism is a factor that is considered in all tourism sectors in the world and Egypt has not been left behind in this quest. This paper is an analysis of tourism activities in Giza, Egypt. The article analyses tourism activities from the perspective of the ecosystem, demographics, sustainable tourism among other things. Research shows that tourism is the second-largest economic activity in Egypt. The sector brings in a total of 13 million dollars annually in the country.
Giza is the third-largest city in Egypt and is situated about 20 kilometers on the west bank close to the river Nile. It is known as one of the most popular tourist destinations which are visited by people from around the world (Egypt Travel, 2014). The city of Giza is known to be the home of the great pyramid of Giza, the great sphinx, monument, and another natural curving of ancient Egyptian pharos and kings. The destination is said to be the most popular and stands tall only after the city of Cairo. The city is located just seventeen kilometers from Saqqara and eight kilometers from Abu Rawash, it is also known for other attraction sites like the solar boat and other pyramids.
Sustainable tourism is defined as the type of tourism that employs total consideration of its current and future environmental, natural, economic, social, and political impacts on its tourist landscape. This type of tourism aim at, dealing with the necessities of visitors, the sector, the environment, and the host communities (Huffington Post, 2014). Sustainable tourism ensures that all the visitors coming for tourism activities takes care of the social, cultural, environmental, and economic aspects of the destination in order to help maintain and preserve the place. The city of Giza has embarked on the use of sustainable tourism to help preserves its most popular artifacts such as pyramids, land, and other tourist attraction sites in order to maintain them for future use.
Sustainable tourism policies such as effective preservation of tourist sites have been put in Giza. The city also ensures that other tourist attraction sites like the pyramids are preserved for future use (Huffington Post, 2014). The environment is also taken care of using Egypt’s environmental protection agency policies. Cultural and social sites are to be renovated in order to maintain their attractive states and maintain their original appearances. Other sustainable tourism policies such as ensuring that each visitor is accountable for any damage he or she causes to the site and monuments are implemented (Reha, 2013). The city must come up with policies of charging visitors who mishandle monuments and other tourist attraction sites in the city of Giza. They also have strict environmental protection law that does not allow littering and felling down of few trees that are available. The administration might also come up with an irrigation method for planting trees just like they do with rice to help improve natural habitats for the monuments and improve the scenes of the tourist sites.
Egypt is a country found in the Sahara desert and faces many harsh weather conditions due to high amounts of heat and less rainfall. Therefore, the ecosystem tourism that can be achieved in the destination of Giza includes preserving environmental activities and tourism activities (Eraqi, 2007). The pyramids are mostly made of stone hence they are prone to weathering and damage from sporadic rains; the government has ensured that the city planners come up with methods of preserving the monuments from erosion and damage by rain and weathering. Environmental sustainability such as improving infrastructure is another policy used to upgrade the ecosystem in order to boost tourism
The city of Giza is one area that has fully participated in sustainable development initiatives by ensuring that people living there do not degrade the environment. They are not allowed to cut trees aimlessly; all factories involved in the emission of toxic waste must do so under-regulated standards (Eraqi, 2007). the tourism sector in the city is also in charge of preserving monuments, pyramids, and other attraction sites to ensure sustainable development and usability of the available resources as well as preservation of the sites. The officials have registered valuable success in the quest to maintain tourist activities for example they have been able to ensure that pyramids, monuments, social and cultural heritages have been preserved for a long time (Eraqi, 2007). This has also ensured a continued influx of tourists in the city despite the harsh political conditions faced by many parts of the nation.
The largest economic industry in Egypt is the tourism industry. This sector brings in billions of dollars every year as well as taking a greater percentage in increasing the country’s GDP. The tourism sector has also ensured greater foreign exchange and improved economic activities in the country (UK Essays, 2014). This has also raised the living standards as it offers employment opportunities to many citizens coming from the city.
The government, the environmental agencies, and the tourism industry should take charge of paying for sustainable tourism since these are the main sectors that utilize the number of funds collected through tourism activities (Ibrahim, 2009). There should be money allocates for sustainable tourism at all times in order to help preserves the sites and ensure continuous gain in the areas of tourism. Sustainable tourism can be encouraged by ensuring that the monuments, pyramids,s, and artifacts are preserved properly. They should also maintain the original nature of social and cultural activities. Visitors who violate environmental policies while in Egypt must be made to pay financially for the damages caused.
Two thought-provoking questions
- Apart from making tourists pay for damages cost to the environment and other tourist sites in the city, name other three ways which visitors can make to contribute positively to the tourist site and environment
- Name other methods that can be used to improve the vegetative cover of the city of Giza and how this improvement will impact tourism in the region
Conclusion
Egypt is a country whose tourism activities are sorted by many around the world. The city of Giza is known for its attractive tourist sites and activities, it is known for the pyramids, sphinx, and other activities such as the solar boat. The city has taken a front-row action in sustainable development in order to achieve sustainable tourism they believe that by preserving their tourist sites they will be able to continue tourist activities in the area for a long time. Ecosystem tourism is another factor that had made tourism activities possible in the city.
References.
Eraqi, M. (2007). Ecotourism resource management as a way of ensuring sustainable development.
Ibrahim, Z. (2009). Tourism development and the environment on the Egyptian Red Sea coast.
UK Essays (2014). Tourism planning policies and infrastructure in Egypt tourism.
Reha, M. (2013). Sustainable streetscape as an effective tool in sustainable urban design.