DAHSHOUR DISCOVERY & DEVELOPMENT PROJECT Successful, sustainable and sustaining tourism for Giza s hidden World Heritage Site A Tourism Cares global community project 2015-16 Tourism is a powerful force for inspiration and enjoyment, for cross-cultural connections and understanding, for personal growth, and for economic development. It is for all these reasons that the Tourism Cares community is launching an initiative in support of Dahshour, an underappreciated UNESCO World Heritage Site destination just 35km from Cairo with a wealth of archaeological, cultural and environmental assets. The global Tourism Cares community, which includes travel and tourism companies, destinations, nonprofits, and academic and government partners, will help make the Dahshour Rural Tourism Cluster an attractive destination for national and international visitors on the Greater Cairo Tourism Circuit by enhancing the visitor experience and bolstering its community groups. Importantly, the Dahshour Discovery & Development Project builds on Mobilization of the World Heritage Site of Dahshour for Community Development, a $3.1M Millennium Development Fund effort from 2009-2013 which enhanced tourism planning and the local capacity of tour guides, social enterprises and others. With Egypt tourism rebounding and Dahshour primed to make tourism successful, sustainable and sustaining, now is the ideal time for a concerted effort to increase
capacity and visitation. The results will be profound for visitors, and for Dahshour: it will reduce poverty while protecting the archaeological and national resources of this unheralded site. Together, we can create desirable jobs in the tourism sector and generate revenues for communities threatened by poverty, political instability and environmental degradation. The Whitley Memorial Fund and private donors helped seed the program: now we need to engage all of tourism s friends of Egypt and fully support the Dahshour Discovery & Development Project. WHY HERE, WHY NOW: A World Heritage community prepared for sustainable, sustaining tourism Why Here? A must-see collection of step pyramids fabulous for photography and scenery Dahshour, a rural area within an hour south of Cairo, is home to tremendous cultural and natural wealth. It s Black, Bent and Red Pyramids, along a 3.5km stretch, are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Memphis and its Necropolis the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshour, though it s safe to say they are a distant third in popularity from the Great Pyramids and Saqqara, which is just 8km to the north. The Red Pyramid (circa 2600 B.C.) Egypt s second largest, to Cheops -- was built under the reign of Snefru, founder of the Fourth Dynasty, and marks an important point in the evolution of early Egyptian pyramids, falling between Saqqara s architecture and that of the great pyramids of Giza. Yet for the modern traveler, Dahshour has much more to offer: Birket Dahshour, a seasonal wetland and a refuge for migratory birds and other wildlife; ancient canals; proximity to both the Nile and the vast desert beyond; and a chance, not far from Cairo, to also sample agricultural villages and culture. According to a local development agency, Dahshour has remained hidden for years, indifferent to the passage of tourists who travel within established international circuits close by, and almost untouched by modernization It offers the opportunity to live unique and authentic experiences based on farming lifestyles and to learn about the history of an ancient region.
Travelers commenting on TripAdvisor seem to agree that Dahshour -- #8 of 61 things to do in Giza -- is worth visiting, in part because it is off-the-beaten-track. red and bent pyramids (5-stars): I hired a guide from the Misr tour office at the Mena House office. (named Nasr). Great experience. Those two sites are basically virgin in the middle of the desert. None of the craziness at the Great pyramids. It is like going back in time. I highly recommend this tour. (trenchie643, 3/2/15) fabulous (5-stars): Better than Giza. There was no one else there when I visited. I was able to walk around with no hassle or bother from any sellers. If only Giza was like this. (NessySomerset, 2/15/15) Live the Dream (5-stars): Out of the way and very interesting. A must see collection of step pyramids fabulous for photography and scenery. Get a good guide so that you know what you are looking at and take at least half a day. (barcelnaaustralia, 2/17/15) And even one of the six average ratings had a silver lining: You can t get near it (3-stars): When you go there, you can only see it from a very far distance. You get to see and go inside the Red Pyramid anyways. It s the only bent pyramid in the world, so I guess it s a must see if you are in Cairo. (kaseyferie, 1/4/15) Yet what is known of visitation confirms that relatively few tourists visit Dahshour, which is clearly part of its charm compared to the throngs of Giza. Why Now: the tourism industry s opportunity to build on vital Millenium Development research, support and training just completed in 2013 Recognizing the potential of tourism to support the long-term sustainable development of the region, the Government of Egypt and international donors have invested heavily in the development of tourism infrastructure in the region. In April 2009, the Egyptian government partnered with the MDG Achievement Fund and five different UN agencies to foster sustainable development and revenue generation in the community of Dahshur through attracting tourism and developing creative industries while protecting the area of the Dahshur Pyramids and its ecosystems.
The $3.1M program is designed to create new employment opportunities for local community members in handicrafts and tourism. As part of the project, roads improvement were made, tourism circuits were developed, and tourism-specific trainings were provided to local community members. The project builds on previous work supported by Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund (MDG-F), with funds from the Government of Spain, and involved project partners from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Industrial Development Program (UNIDO), International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Government of Egypt (Ministry of Tourism, Supreme Council of Antiquities, Social Fund for Development, Industrial Modernization Centre, Environmental Affairs Agency) The project s outputs were a success but its overall success was hampered by the collapse of the tourism economy due to political instability and violence. That is now changing: a December 2014 Financial Times article notes an 70% increase in year-overyear visitation in the third quarter; a 193% increase year-over-year in September; and, according to Hisham Zazou, the minister of tourism, a jump in Cairo hotel occupancy from 10-20% in 2013 TO 50% IN 2014. Tourists are starting to return, and not just to the Red Sea leisure areas. OUTCOMES & ACTIVITIES: our goals and how we will reach them Dahshour is significant, appealing, accessible, and prepared. Now it s our time to help. Our goals for the first phase of the program are to: Increase visibility and tourism industry relationships to support increased visitation o tour operator Dahshour additions - local o tour operator Dahshour additions international o earned media activity in travel and tourism industry press (global, focused in North America) Further improve the visitor experience, measured by pre-project and postsurveys. Improve the transparency and profitability of community-based social enterprises o Goals to be established following the business plan process (see below) and in partnership with government entities, based on progress from the MDG community development effort
To drive these results, the project partners will pursue: Project leadership and capacity building: thanks to our early stage funders, we have awarded a scholarship to a qualified cultural heritage guide to enroll in Universite Franc aise d Egypte and the University of Paris 1 Panthe on-sorbonne Master Degree in Cultural Heritage Management, to serve as a resource to support the community tourism program in Dahshur Develop a business plan for the Dahshour Rural Tourism Cluster to define how community tourism will be organized, managed, marketed, and delivered. Provide operations and management trainings to members of community-based tourism enterprises, to ensure their efficient, sustainable and profitable management. Next-step guide trainings for local tour guides, to ensure the delivery of a safe, enjoyable, high quality tour product. Improvements to a visitor information center, which will serve as an interpretive and educational center for tourists, an administrative headquarters for community-based enterprises, and a retail venue for local artisans. Build a marketing and sales strategy for the Dahshour Rural Tourism Cluster including a launch event with media, Egyptian tourism industry, government of Egypt. Leverage the travel and tourism industry for all of these initiatives with Tourism Cares, which might include, pending further discussion and thebusiness planning process results: o The Global Dahshour Volunteer Expedition, synched with the launch or early stage of a marketing campaign, to possibly include a PR effort, 3-8 skilled volunteers to provide direct consulting and group seminars for the Dahshour tourism and nonprofit community, and an industry volunteering effort to rally the Cairo-based tourism and hospitality community. o Visibility at the December 2015 conference of the US Tour Operators Association; may also include coverage at travel agent and other gatherings o US industry ad campaign, using in-kind donations from publications THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST & SUPPORT
Thank you for your support of Egypt and Dahshour. For more information please contact Mike Rea, CEO, Tourism Cares (mike.rea@tourismcares.org, 415.377.8043), or Chris Seek, Tourism Cares Director and CEO of Solimar International (chris.seek@solimarinternational.com).