In the framework of the EBSOMED project, the German Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce (GACIC) in cooperation with The Association of Chamber of Commerce of the Mediterranean (ASCAME), organized an EU Med Roadshow “The Mediterranean Tourism Forum – MEDITOUR 2019”, on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th of July in Alexandria city, Egypt.

The event hosted tourism experts, agencies, tour operators, governmental and private tourism stakeholders from the north and the south of the Mediterranean, as well as a provider of digital solutions, green tourism labels. The participants presented and discussed the latest trends in the tourism economy and had the chance to have interactive exchanges, present success stories and talk about opportunities.

Dr Alaa Ezz, Secretary-General FEDCOC /CEEBA, opened the first day of the event by highlighting    the need to promote dialogue and cooperation for a public-private partnership to promote the Mediterranean as a tourist destination and to develop and develop the various destinations through the promotion of investment and technological and technical cooperation in a sustainable manner.

The Egyptian Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, Mr Ali Meselhi, spoke of the great potential of tourism in the Mediterranean region and explained that to increase this potential and use it in the context of sustainable development, urgent issues such as digital tourism marketing and sustainable and green tourism need to be addressed.

Emad Ghaly, President of GACIC, said during his intervention: “This Roadshow allows us to discuss how we can concrete new initiatives to boost the tourism sector. We develop the cooperation between public & private sector of the Mediterranean implementing project such as EBSOMED.”

« Investment in tourism should integrate sustainable concepts and approaches so as to yield sustainable revenues for the country», this was the key message of H.E. Ambassador Ivan Surkoš, Head of the European Union Delegation to Egypt, during his welcome address.

The forum was attended by nearly 250 tourism investors from Egypt and the Mediterranean countries, ambassadors, consuls, and representatives of different international organizations concerned with the sector. The participants had also the opportunity to attend a training session around the topic “promoting tourism in a digital age”, led by the Digital marketing and communication consultant, Fady RAMZY.