https://stepfeed.com/life/food-travel/selfie-crazed-culture-affected-egypts-tourism/
How our selfie-crazed culture has affected Egypt’s tourism
Noha Medhat
Article Author
The proliferation of social media in
our modern digital age has redefined our culture, dramatically changing
so many aspects of our lives, from the way we interact socially to the
way we find information. It has even changed the way we travel and
experience the wonders of the world.
In this brave new world of waterproof smartphones and selfie sticks,
many tourists are more concerned with taking the best possible
selfies than with actually experiencing the attractions they have
traveled to visit.
This new culture has various consequences on tourism in Egypt, which has always been primarily tailored to heritage tourism. And while there are many different kinds of tourism in Egypt, it is its massive collection of civilization artifacts that has always made it flourish.
Unfortunately, most tourists nowadays don’t care about heritage unless it has something to do with a world-famous landmark that can score the most likes on Instagram and Facebook. It’s almost as if the place’s cultural relevance matters more than its actual value.
The majority don’t want to spend five hours in a temple listening to an explanation of Ancient Egypt’s religious structure or two hours in a medieval castle listening to why Saladin built the Cairo Citadel, or why Saladin’s name exists in history books in the first place.
They do however, want to go snorkeling or diving in the Red Sea, lie on the beach for hours on end and then maybe spare a day from their vacation for a daytrip to Cairo to snap a couple of selfies kissing the Sphinx and resting on the Great Pyramid.
This effect has been made particularly visible in the past four to five years, the period of time the country’s tourism industry has witnessed a noticeable decline in revenues due to a variety of different factors.
The relatively small numbers of tourists that did visit Egypt during this period of decline though, the same period in which social media’s dominance has been the most pronounced, headed for the beach tourism destinations on its Red Sea coasts, otherwise known as the best selfie spots, while the temples and Nile cruise boats were left deserted.
This change in trends has become too visible to ignore, it is the reason why Australia created its own selfie service
in a campaign to attract Japanese tourists, and the reason why travel
blogs tell their readers about the best selfie spots in every capital.
The situation is both unfortunate and confusing, even reckless sometimes, but it has become a reality. And now many countries that benefit from tourism are adjusting to the new system. Will Egypt have to change things someday to make Luxor and Aswan just as exciting as its Sinai beaches? Only time will tell.
This new culture has various consequences on tourism in Egypt, which has always been primarily tailored to heritage tourism. And while there are many different kinds of tourism in Egypt, it is its massive collection of civilization artifacts that has always made it flourish.
Unfortunately, most tourists nowadays don’t care about heritage unless it has something to do with a world-famous landmark that can score the most likes on Instagram and Facebook. It’s almost as if the place’s cultural relevance matters more than its actual value.
The majority don’t want to spend five hours in a temple listening to an explanation of Ancient Egypt’s religious structure or two hours in a medieval castle listening to why Saladin built the Cairo Citadel, or why Saladin’s name exists in history books in the first place.
They do however, want to go snorkeling or diving in the Red Sea, lie on the beach for hours on end and then maybe spare a day from their vacation for a daytrip to Cairo to snap a couple of selfies kissing the Sphinx and resting on the Great Pyramid.
This effect has been made particularly visible in the past four to five years, the period of time the country’s tourism industry has witnessed a noticeable decline in revenues due to a variety of different factors.
The relatively small numbers of tourists that did visit Egypt during this period of decline though, the same period in which social media’s dominance has been the most pronounced, headed for the beach tourism destinations on its Red Sea coasts, otherwise known as the best selfie spots, while the temples and Nile cruise boats were left deserted.
This change in trends has become too visible to ignore, it is the reason why Australia created its own selfie service
in a campaign to attract Japanese tourists, and the reason why travel
blogs tell their readers about the best selfie spots in every capital.The situation is both unfortunate and confusing, even reckless sometimes, but it has become a reality. And now many countries that benefit from tourism are adjusting to the new system. Will Egypt have to change things someday to make Luxor and Aswan just as exciting as its Sinai beaches? Only time will tell.
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