Enhancing Tourism in Egypt by Reaching Persons with Disabilities. Competition on Accessible Tourism, 2016

Hurghada Marina. Photo: Ivor Ambrose

Hotels and tourism service providers in Egypt are invited to apply for the first ever "Tourism for All" awards, with the chance of winning a Study Tour to Europe and ENAT Memberships.

Accessible Tourism Competition

In order to attract visitors who have disabilities to Egypt and raise awareness on the value of employing persons with disabilities in the tourism sector, the International Labor Organization (ILO) Cairo Office announces the Accessible Tourism Competition 2016, with the slogan “Tourism for All”.

The competition is organized in collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism, the Red Sea Governorate, the Egyptian Hotel Association, and ENAT - the European Network for Accessible Tourism.

Accessible tourism is an untapped potential for Egypt, due to the growing numbers of persons with disabilities and ageing populations in many developed countries and in emerging economies. This requires tourism services to be prepared to meet new demands for comfort, safety, and accessibility. Guests with disabilities, seniors, and families with young children all benefit from improved infrastructure and services, and staff who are aware of the needs of an increasingly diverse customer base.

Hotels and Tourist Service Providers Invited to Apply

The first accessible tourism competition in Egypt targets hotels and tourism service providers operating in the Red Sea, South Sinai, Cairo, Giza and Alexandria Governorates and invites them to compete for four prizes depending on their efforts in making their services more accessible (infrastructure, facilities and services, awareness, and staff training, etc.).

The prizes include study tours to a European country that is distinguished for its tourism accessibility, and membership of the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT). 

Application Deadline

Interested hotels and tourism service providers (e.g., coach tours, diving centers, boat excursions, desert safaris, spas, etc.) should send their applications to email: tourism.for.all@outlook.com, before 5 pm on 4th March 2016.

Download the background document in English and Arabic from the right-hand panel.

The Winners

ILO recognized the winners in the 1st accessible tourism competition in a ceremony on March 9th 2017. The first three winners participated in a panel to present their good practices in making tourism welcoming of people with disabilities (photo).

Prize winners receive their Accessible Tourism Awards (Photo ILO). 

The first prize winner was Camel Hotel and Camel Dive. Its representative participated in an exchange visit to Madrid.

2nd prize: Mövenpick Resort Hurghada.

3rd prize: MSG Holdings.

All received certificates and plaques during the ceremony.

The winners were also awarded free membership of ENAT for two years.

Winners visit Madrid for Accessible Tourism Training and Fam Trip

Read the article in Perfiles Magazine by 'Accessible Madrid' about the prize-winners' training experience in Madrid, Spain. (PDF download in Spanish, from right-hand column).