Destination BrandWatch (Middle East): Tourism Campaigns & Crisis Management
Egypt Celebrates its Revolution with New Tourism Campaign Unveiled at ITB
Egypt launched a global advertising campaign on Thursday with a series of slogans celebrating its recent revolution.
The launch at trade show ITB in Berlin unveiled a variety of new slogans celebrating the recent overthrow of the government, including:
“Welcome to the country of peaceful revolution”, “7,000 years of history and a new era”, and “Tahrir - a square rocks the world”. Tahrir Square in Cairo was at the centre of the protests that deposed former President Mubarak in Febuary.
The campaign will run on TV, in print, online and outdoor, and ally the new slogans to the tagline in use since 2010 - “Egypt, where it all begins”. It will use images reflecting the revolution, including a postage stamp dated January 25, the day the uprising began.
New Egyptian tourism minister Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour unveiled the campaign at ITB. He said the country expects a speedy rebound in visitor numbers and the year to finish with arrivals close to the level of last year.
Tui Travel chief executive Peter Long told Travel Weekly on Wednesday that he expects bookings to Egypt this year to be about 60% of the level of 2010.
The minister said Egypt had suffered a short-term fall in tourism numbers “due to the current incidents”. But he said he expects “a fast return”, with tour operators and airlines offering full programmes.
Egypt drew more than 14 million overseas tourists last year and aims to attract 25 million a year by 2020.
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The Egyptian consulate’s tourism department said in a statement: “Egypt is optimistic about a quick rebound and is looking forward to the pro-democratic change and the new era to go hand in hand with an upturn in tourism.
“Egypt has been the focus of worldwide media attention . . . [now] the primary objective is to quickly get back to the normal level of tourism. All travel warnings have been removed. A lot of tour operators have announced [a] full commitment.
“The peaceful, pro-democratic revolution has brought a fresh breeze to Egypt. Tourism officials will freshen up their marketing measures accordingly, focussing on increased participation at international events and media-marketing activities.”
The new campaign will also include the following slogans: “A new era of hospitality”, “Peaceful change is in the air”, “A peaceful revolution inspires the world”, “The online revolution - made in Egypt”, and “Nothing new here, history is made”.
Read More: www.travelweekly.co.uk
Israel Unveils New Campaign to Differentiate its Image from Regional Countries
With Libya in the throes of chaos and bloodletting, and post-revolution Egypt gripped by uncertainty, Tourism Minister Stas Meseznikov on Wednesday unveiled a NIS 45 million advertising campaign to meant to ensure that potential tourists don’t get scared away from visiting Israel despite the turmoil in the region.
The campaign also aims to encourage tourists who may have otherwise traveled to Egypt, Tunisia, or elsewhere to try Israel instead.
Meseznikov said Wednesday “given the geo-political situation and the blow to the region’s image, the Tourism Ministry is next week launching a series of campaigns worth NIS 45m. in target countries around the world in order to differentiate Israel’s image from the other countries in the region and strengthen it as a safe, accessible and attractive tourism destination.”
Meseznikov’s statement was issued as the minister opened the Israeli stand at the ITB in Berlin, the world’s largest tourism fair.
According to the Tourism Ministry, the campaign will include commercials aired in target countries such as the US, Russia, Germany, UK and Scandinavia.
“The regional crisis represents a challenge and an opportunity for tourism to Israel,” Meseznikov said. “We will work through all the marketing channels with a variety of activities in order to position Israel as an alternative destination for those tourists who, until now, would take their vacations in other countries in the region.
“The Tourism Ministry representatives, working in 17 offices around the world, will expand their activities with local tourism industry representatives to increase traffic to Israel. Activities that have already taken place over the last few weeks in Russia and Ukraine have proven that Israel is seen as an alternative for tourists wishing to travel to the Middle East region,” he said.
Read More: www.jpost.com
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