Tourism and Reality
Nada Ayman Abdelmohsen
Hesham Khaled Atwa
Ahmed Youssef Bedda
Ramy Hatem Fakhr
Ahmed Mohamed El-Mikawi
The Egyptian government has been striving to preserve the country’s reputation of being a top tourist destination and has neglected to show tourists the unsterilized culture and society of the nation. We can either present tourists with a lame attempt at a pseudo-utopian society in which the people are completely satisfied, or we can candidly reveal the reality that is now Cairo, misery and all.
Although I would not want to depict my home country as an economically developing third world nation, the government’s deceptive illustration of our nation to the tourist industry is unethical. I want to show tourists the real Egypt. In order for them to share in the bittersweet sentiment that makes me love this country. They will need to experience the lightheartedness that populates the hearts of the average person no matter how dire their conditions are.This sense of humor has got to be our most amiable attribute as Egyptian people. Instead of having tourists see only one side of our culture, I would have them embrace our sociable personalities and see us who for truly are.
We should be flaunting our collective sociable personality and have foreigners know us for who we really are as a people.
Comments
Hi AUC Rhetoric Students: Our class is very excited to be blogging with you! Why do you think Egypt is presented as "sterilized"? What purpose does this serve for the tourist industry, do you think?
Posted by: Julia Bleakney | March 3, 2009 09:48 AM
I think that is a great idea. I know that I would like to get to know the "real" Egypt, although of course, there are many tourists who would prefer the fun in the sun version. I think that these days many people would be very receptive towards this kind of true tourism.
Posted by: Kiah Thorn | March 3, 2009 09:49 AM
You say that you wish tourists could see "us for who we truly are." If you could think of one thing you would most like to share with tourists (or just inquisitive American students!) about real Egyptian life, what would it be?
Posted by: Katherine Sebastian | March 3, 2009 10:02 AM
I definitely agree with the need to present a more authentic version of Egypt. Unfortunately, the very nature of tourism supports escapism. But, like Kiah said, I think new forms of tourism focus on "real" parts of countries and cultures. However, these forms often exploit the poor (i.e. slum tours in India).
Posted by: Keshav Rao | March 3, 2009 10:03 AM
This brings up a really interesting global question: if a country economically depends on tourism, how much say do they have in the information they actually present? Is a country forced to present information that is appealing to tourists if that is what brings tourists to Egypt, or can tourism companies more accurately depict their country and still bring in tourist revenues?
Posted by: Anonymous | March 3, 2009 10:06 AM
This is really interesting. More and more people seem to be looking for an "authentic" vacation where they see more than just the main attractions and monuments. I wonder how the tourism industry in Egypt could be transformed to allow people to understand the true culture.
Posted by: Kasey Kissick | March 3, 2009 10:06 AM
This brings up a really interesting global question: if a country economically depends on tourism, how much say do they have in the information they actually present? Is a country forced to present information that is appealing to tourists if that is what brings tourists to Egypt, or can tourism companies more accurately depict their country and still bring in tourist revenues?
Posted by: Colin Casey | March 3, 2009 10:07 AM