Alexandria University President Launches Tourism Innovation Conference
Within the framework of the Egyptian state’s orientation towards clean energy and the green economy in Egypt’s Vision 2030, Professor Dr. Abdelaziz Konsowa, President of Alexandria University, inaugurated today, Wednesday 24 April 2024, the activities of the international scientific conference organized by the Faculty of Tourism and Hotels under the title “Innovation in the Tourism Industry in Light of Contemporary Global Changes,” which is being held for two-day in the city of Ne Alamein.
The opening ceremony was attended by Dr. Ghada Shalabi, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Dr. Mostafa El-Naggar, President of Matrouh University, Dr. Essam El-Kurdi, President of El Alamein University, Dr. Hisham Saeed, Vice President of Alexandria University for Postgraduate Studies and Research, Dr. Hisham Gaber, Vice President of El Alamein University for Academic Affairs, Dr. Hazem Atiyat-Allah, former president of Helwan University and former governor of Fayoum, Dr. Maged Negm, former president of Helwan University, Dr. Hossam El-Rifai, vice president of Helwan University for education and student affairs, Engineer Ahmed Ibrahim, head of the El Alamein City Authority, Major General Hisham Lotfy, former assistant minister of the interior and head of the authority. Regional conference to revitalize tourism in Alexandria, Dr. Abeer Attia, Dean of the Faculty of Tourism and Hotels and Chairman of the Conference, Dr. Nashwa Fouad, Vice Dean of the Faculty for Graduate Studies and Research and Conference Rapporteur, in addition to a large number of faculty members, researchers and specialists in the field of tourism, both Egyptians and foreigners.
In his speech, Dr. Abdulaziz Konsowa welcomed the attendees at this conference, including experts and professors specialized in the tourism and hospitality sector. He offered his congratulations to the Faculty of Tourism and Hotels for coming out with the conference in a distinguished manner, expressing his aspiration for the conference to come out with effective and applicable recommendations capable of advancing this important sector. He praised the level of achievement that the city of El Alamein is witnessing as a model for the new cities being built by the Egyptian state. Dr. Konsowa added that the Egyptian state’s vision for development is based on four basic axes: industry, agriculture, and tourism, in addition to the services and logistics industry. Therefore, tourism is considered an important element for achieving Egypt’s vision and reaching the required development rates. He added that Egypt is making great efforts to restore its health and be at the forefront of countries working to achieve sustainable development that serves current and future generations in light of major internal and external challenges.
Dr. Essam El-Kurdi stressed the importance of the conference, which discusses the future of the tourism industry in Egypt in light of the modern economic, social and technological transformations. Therefore, innovation and creativity have become an indispensable necessity for developing both tourist attractions and the human element, as well as adopting technologies, as the role of universities appears in developing promotion and marketing mechanisms and spreading awareness of the importance of sustainable tourism in development, which reflects on society by achieving a better future, therefore, research and innovation must be encouraged, researchers supported, and cooperation between academia and industry must be strengthened to transform ideas into tangible results that serve society.
Dr. Mostafa El-Naggar praised the leading role of Alexandria University in organizing scientific conferences that adopt modern concepts, pointing to the importance of the conference topic, which deals with modern issues in the tourism industry, stressing that innovation is a large umbrella under which many topics fall that aim to develop green tourism, attract the largest number of tourists, and improve the level of tourism services provided, to present the bright side of Egypt and enhance the role of tourism in economic development.
Dr. Ghada Shalaby pointed out the excellent choice of the new city of El Alamein as a venue for the conference, as the state made great efforts to present the city as a model for sustainable tourist cities that provide their services throughout the year, where there is an advanced infrastructure of an airport, hotels, resorts, and accommodations, in addition to universities and schools. She praised the role of Alexandria University in nourishing the tourism sector with experts and human resources capable of competing in local, regional, and international labour markets, confirming the country’s success in developing the tourism industry and reaching 14.9 million tourists this year, aiming to reach 30 million tourists in 2030 despite contemporary regional and international challenges.
Dr. Abeer Attia confirmed that choosing the conference topic came out of the belief in the necessity of the tourism sector keeping pace with all the changes at the regional and international levels that would affect the sector, in addition to the important emergence of the technological element in changing the form of the travel experience, as well as climate change and its impact on the environment, and how to adapt to it, adding that choosing New Alamein as a location to organize the conference came as the city is a model for fourth generation cities and the capabilities it possesses that makes it one of the most important tourist destinations in Egypt.
Dr. Nashwa Fouad stated that the conference discusses several main topics, the most important of which is artificial intelligence in the tourism and hospitality sector, entrepreneurship and innovation in the tourism and hospitality industry, modern trends in tourism and hospitality resource management, modern issues in tourism and hotel marketing strategies, innovation in heritage studies and museums, the city of New Alamein as a promising cultural destination between the past and the present.