International e-tourism event kicks off in Egypt

The second Arab International E-Tourism and E-Marketing Conference started today, December 15, at the Moevenpick Resort El Gouna – Red Sea in Egypt and will last until December 18.

The second Arab International E-Tourism and E-Marketing Conference started today, December 15, at the Moevenpick Resort El Gouna – Red Sea in Egypt and will last until December 18.

At last nightโ€™s opening ceremony, Dr. Yehya Abu El Hassan, International Organization for the E-Tourism Industry (IOTEI) president, welcomed the audience and addressed them about the IOETI. The general manager of the Egypt Tourism Board also addressed the audience, showing them how Egypt is working to promote its country through the Internet and e-marketing. The famous actor, Mr. Mahmoud Hameda, also spoke at the opening ceremony and talked about how the connection between people makes a better life for all.

The first sessions this morning began with Christian Maurer as the moderator, Karl Wober, Lee Hunter, Michael Jackson, and Alex Rayner. Most talk was about modern technology and how we can get the best of it in marketing our countries and tourism bodies. Lee Hunter, representing Google, explained how the search engine can promote a destination at no charge. Other speakers talked about Facebook and other social media and how a person can upload a video on YouTube and millions will see it without having to pay for anything โ€“ all you need is a camera and a computer โ€“ or nowadays, all you really need is a multi-function phone.

The second half of the morning began with Jens Thraenhart as the moderator along with Christian Maurer, Lee Hunter, David Horrigan, and Satvinder Sandhu. An interesting and attractive short video was shown by Satvinder Sandhu, depicting how animals in Africa are supporting each other, and she discussed how such a video in the world of e-marketing can be used promote a country.

Two more sessions took place after lunch in which UNWTO participated by providing information about the organizationโ€™s activities, which included Alex Rayner, eTourism advisor with UNWTO, who is responsible for the organizationโ€™s eTourism for Development Program.

The first dayโ€™s session ended with an open question period. The event is professionally organized, and event organizers have done a fantastic job so far of addressing the participantsโ€™ needs. And when the official portions of the event have concluded for the day, the El Gouna resort steps in to take great care of event guests.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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