Cairo’s bright summer sunshine doesn’t seem to deter thousands of tourists who flock to the pyramids in the scorching heat of June. The highest influx of tourists is expected in the winter months at the end of the year, but tour guides can already predict a strong season by looking at last year’s figures. Despite ongoing regional unrest, especially Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip, less than 320 kilometers from Cairo, Egypt is set to welcome around 14.9 million tourists in 2023, the highest level since 2010.
Tour guides are hoping 2024 will be just as busy, but this year they are campaigning for better pay and conditions.
The Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights told African Business that tour guides are “demanding elections for their own council and true representation, fighting not only the government but also the big tourist companies that are exploiting them and making their situation difficult.”
A recent court ruling that could benefit up to 16,000 tour guides was a boost for them by granting them the right to form their own councils, effectively eliminating a government-appointed Tourism Ministry committee that many felt did not adequately represent their interests.
“The bill will allow guides to elect a committee that will be able to defend their rights, express their demands and take them to ministries and big companies,” said Malik Adly, a lawyer who has been working with the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights to support tour guides in their legal battles.
Experts say the decision will allow guides to insist on working independently from agencies and companies, while pressuring them to offer fair pay and conditions.
Growing economic importance stimulates further investment
The tourism sector is one of the pillars of the Egyptian economy. Adla Ragab, director of the Center for Economic and Financial Studies at Cairo University, told African Business that tourism is a major contributor to Egypt’s GDP, accounting for 12.8 percent of the total economy.
Raghav, who served as first deputy tourism minister from 2017 to 2018, said the tourism sector was a major source of foreign exchange.
“Over the past 50 years, tourism receipts have consistently accounted for an average of 33% of services exports and around 17% of total exports. This indicates that tourism has helped to mitigate trade imbalances, reducing deficits and increasing surpluses.”
As the tourism industry continues to recover from the COVID-19 nightmare that saw visitor numbers fall by a staggering 72%, the government has pledged investment, targeting 30 million tourists per year by 2028.
“The current government is keen to use large-scale projects and new infrastructure to support tourism, which is well illustrated by the World Economic Forum’s index, which ranks Egypt sixth in government tourism priorities,” Ragab added.
One such megaproject is the Ras el-Hekma contract signed with the UAE, which aims to transform one of Egypt’s coastal cities into a luxury Mediterranean resort.
Traditional tourist attractions are also set to become the target of new investments and projects. On December 31, the National Intelligence Agency announced that there will be more investment in preserving antiquities in 2024, when the Grand Egyptian Museum finally opens. At the African Tourism Forum in Sharm el-Sheikh in May, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa stressed the importance of coordinating policies to maximize common benefits and boost tourism in Africa.
An unequal industry
But despite tourism growth under the new government, those at the bottom of the industry have seen little change over the years: guides say their incomes remain precarious even as the wider industry recovers.
Ibrahim has been working as a tour guide since 1991. He says that even back then, tour guides were at the mercy of big agencies and corporations, and rarely paid the legal minimum wage. “They never paid me the official minimum wage, and when I complained, they replaced me with someone else who was willing to work for such a low wage,” he says. (His name has been changed at his request.)
Ibrahim is often praised by tourists who enjoy his knowledgeable, history-rich tours, but like other tour guides, he is often unable to work independently of major travel companies and set his own prices.
The Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights claims the government appealed the court’s ruling, which called for the market to be liberalised in 2023, following pressure from business and the Ministry of Tourism.
“The lack of an elected council means we are denied all the privileges and benefits that come from Egypt’s tourism development,” said Farouk Thabet, a tour guide who filed a lawsuit that led to a court victory allowing guides to elect their council.
“All the struggles I go through are because of my children,” Farouk says. “I have no health insurance, no union services, and my retirement pension is about 2,000 Egyptian pounds. [$41]Despite the long and physically demanding work, agencies and companies are not obliged to provide insurance packages to workers.
Ibrahim, whose voice is hoarse after 33 years as a guide, says workers want a government and unions that respond to their needs.
Egypt is aiming for huge growth as its tourism industry recovers from the recent crisis, with foreign visitor numbers forecast to rise by 30 percent this year, but economists and legal experts warn the country will not reap the full benefits unless the rights of tour guides are respected.
Risks to industry growth
“Better ties with Africa are a key avenue to unlock the tourism sector’s potential,” Abeer El-Shenawy, professor of economics at the American University in Cairo, told African Business, but he warned that “as in any sector, productivity will decline if labor rights are not protected.”
“If you want to invest in something, you have to invest in people first, not in stones,” said Malik Adly, a lawyer who has worked with the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights to support tour guides in their legal battle.
“When it comes to investment, governments should pursue what benefits their people, not big multinational corporations,” he added.
After the legal battle, tour guides are hopeful that things may have changed for the better, and Farook is optimistic that his legal efforts will pave the way for improvements for his colleagues and help the industry as a whole thrive in the future.
“Tour guides are one of the pillars of Egyptian tourism and its success,” he said. “They represent Egyptian society and civilization to tourists.”
