THE Egyptian Tourism Authority (ETA) will relaunch a dedicated website at the domain www.trade.egypt.travel, to cater to the travel and tourism trade and press this month, according to a statement.

The move follows recent enhancements to the authority’s international website www.egypt.travel, following a staggering 2.2 million visitors in nine months. Some 4,129 travel agents have registered on the trade site to date.
Ahmed El Khadem, chairman of the Egyptian Tourism Authority, said, “Our aim is to provide travellers with a one-stop online resource that not only features essential and useful destination information to travellers and trade alike, but also boasts innovative features to enhance the browsing experience still further.”
The enhanced portal reflects the ETA’s new branding, and features an updated layout with even more detailed content as well as extensive information on 15 key destinations. It features a wealth of things to see and do, and has now offers several unique interactive elements, including a new sound-enhanced Egyptian dictionary.
The online Arabic lexicon www.lexicon.egypt.travel enables travellers to learn some of the essential phrases and words used in a variety of day-to-day situations that they may encounter on a holiday to Egypt. These are downloadable for practice.
Users can now also communicate in the ancient language of the Pharaohs by sending their own e-cards – written in actual hieroglyphics – through www.hieroglyph.egypt.travel. A personalised My Travel notebook allows visitors to save, download and share their favourite travel ideas.
Future additions include a link-up with Google Earth, featuring satellite views of destinations and tourist sights. “Visitors can now begin their Egyptian adventure... before they go,” El Khadem said.
Currently available in English, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish, www.egypt.travel is one of the key initiatives of Egypt’s integrated marketing campaign, entitled “Gift of the Sun”. It is designed to double global visitor numbers from eight million in 2004, to reach 16 million by 2014.