Mohamed El Hassanein
Chairman and CEO of Galaxia Tours
Tourism / Egypt
“Galaxia has one of the most luxurious riverboats on the Nile.”
Galaxia Tours offers luxurious travel solutions in Egypt with more than 10 years of experience with China. We spoke to Mohamed El Hassanein, Chairman and CEO of Galaxia Tours, about the development of the Chinese tourists in Egypt.
How do you value economic relations with China within the tourism sector?
We are very much concentrating on the tourism growth in the coming 3-5 years and our hope will be for the Far East, concentrating on China. It is a very important geographical area of activity for the coming years and it will undoubtedly increase. China will be the centre of our interests.
What is your vision for the growth of the Chinese tourism market in Egypt?
I believe that this is one of the fastest growing markets. China represents 110 million tourists abroad, and we are not getting anything like that in Egypt. President Xi’s visit earlier this year will help to create a new dynamics.
The total Chinese numbers in Egypt are very low now. Unofficial figures from last year were near to 160,000. It is a new market. We are far from reaching the 2.5 million Russians or 2 million Europeans. That is why, when you talk about growth, I think it can grow the most. Egypt can attract up to one million Chinese tourists. It depends on how we use correctly the tools we have in our hands.
What can be done to maximize the momentum and attract more tourism?
It requires a governmental effort and a sector wide first. The government needs to increase the flying capacity and work more in cooperation with the private sector to make Egypt higher on the list of preferred destinations. This can be done with promotions, PR and marketing into the Chinese market. And then the Egyptian companies need to work more on segmentation. It is not only about leisure tours. They should expand to other segments.
How do you see the situation changing in the next few years?
It depends on the people working on that segment of the market. I think if we have a clear view and we can communicate with each other to make the competition more reasonable, I think we will achieve something. The problem is that we are not doing this. We are trying from our side; we are trying to make a consortium for the Spanish market and for the Americans, but we have not succeeded yet on the Chinese market to form a group to work together. It will take a bit of time.
Can you introduce Galaxia group to the readers?
The company was founded in 1989 with 4 employees and 2 owners. Now we have more than 6 companies in Egypt, Emirates and China. We have more than 500 employees. We also have our floating hotel, which is one of the most luxurious in Egypt since 2003. One of these companies is dedicated to high quality markets, which is offered with Galaxia Tours.
What has been your strategy with China?
We started on the Chinese market in 2006. The first 2-3 years were only for market research and trying to understand the market. In 2009, we received the first client. In 2010, China represented 15% of our sales. We are targeting 30% in the coming 2 years.
We have now sales offices in three cities—Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing. From now on, we will make a road show and will start to capture tourists out of the big cities. We will go to other provinces. We are developing a general view between all the companies of the group to get an attraction and create new programs like self-drives and cruises. We have a positive response for the time being.
How are you developing your offer for the Chinese?
The majority of Chinese come to Egypt through a combination of culture and leisure. They visit Cairo, Luxor and Hurghada. We are trying to make the segmentation wider and increase the culture segment by putting a cruise between Luxor and Aswan. There are other segments like desert adventures, adventure tourism and port tourism.
We have this in common with China. We are two very old civilizations. Two of the oldest in the world. So there is a line of understanding between the two nations. And the political ties between the two countries during the last 2 years are making this come to a real win-win.
As the beginning of the Sino-Egyptian Culture Year in China, what is your message to our readers?
Egypt is secure and 2016 is the best year to visit Egypt. The country offers great historical cultural visits without the mass tourist crowd and at the moment some of the most emblematic luxury hotels have unbeatable rates. Galaxia has one of the most luxurious riverboats on the Nile and offers once in a lifetime travel packages with a specific dedication to our clients. We have an extensive and successful experience working with China and look forward to welcoming additional guests on this special year.
