Katie Huang, Jennifer Carson, Madison Summers, Shalyn Brown (Group 2)

Professor Polychroniou and Professor Lynch

INTB/CLAS 3051

21 October 2019

An Analysis of Tourism in Greece and Egypt

As geographic distance becomes less of a barrier to travel, tourism has become an

increasingly lucrative industry for many countries, especially those working to further integrate

their economies into the international market. Both Greece and Egypt market their countries as

global sources of cultural and historical significance but through different methods and with

different rates of success.

Greece tends to market its tourism industry by romanticizing its history and culture. The

government tourist board states that Greece’s culture is “one of the most emblematic in the

world,”1 and that its history “excite[s] the imagination.”2 The tourist board draws on the

country’s ancient and more modern history to evoke a sense of wonder from potential tourists.

The site refers to Greece as a “cradle of culture”3 and refers to its ancient monuments and

structures as evidence of “human genius”2 and “measures of progress.”2 Greece portrays itself as

the epitome of culture, and the pinnacle of Western civilization, thought, and practices. Greece

utilizes its rich and long history, spanning back to ancient times (and the fact that is has over 100

museums displaying this history) to attract tourists who want to learn about the world’s ancient

secrets. Greece also attracts tourists by advertising its churches, monasteries, and sacred religious

1
“Visit Greece: Museums.” Visit Greece | The Official website of the Greek Tourism Organisation. Accessed
October 16, 2019. http://www.visitgreece.gr/en/culture/museums.
2
“Visit Greece: Museums.” Visit Greece | The Official website of the Greek Tourism Organisation. Accessed
October 16, 2019. http://www.visitgreece.gr/en/culture/museums.
3
“Visit Greece: Museums.” Visit Greece | The Official website of the Greek Tourism Organisation. Accessed
October 16, 2019. http://www.visitgreece.gr/en/culture/museums.
sites to appeal to those interested in religious history. According the site, the Byzantine Empire

saw Greece “indissolubly linked to the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church, which played a

significant role … in maintaining the language and identity of the Greeks,”4 even during foreign

occupations, which demonstrates that Greece’s culture has been well-maintained throughout

much of history, an important trait for tourists seeking a connection to the past. Many of the

churches and religious sites built since the Byzantine Empire, as well as many ancient structures,

are internationally recognized by UNESCO, and are used as a source of interest for potential

tourists since monuments and structures on the World Heritage List (a list of renowned historical

and cultural sites) are selected because they are “the best examples of human creative genius”

and “bear a[n] ... exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization”5 which gives

them “universal significance”5 among all of mankind.

Egypt also markets itself to tourists by promoting its culture and ancient architecture.

Egypt’s board of tourism speaks of Egypt’s culture “that spans thousands of years of history”

and its “continuous practice of age old traditions”6 that have remained largely unchanged over

thousands of years despite invasions, wars, and the turnover of power. According to Egypt’s

travel website, “Egypt is as much a part of the world as the world is of Egypt,”7 which elicits a

sense of connection between potential tourists and Egypt and suggests that Egypt’s influence on

the world has been great, a notion similar to that of the “universal significance”8 quoted on

Greece’s site. Egypt demonstrates a sense of national pride and appeals to tourists by explaining

4
“Visit Greece: Monuments of Religious Significance.” Visit Greece | The Official website of the Greek Tourism
Organisation. Accessed October 16, 2019. http://www.visitgreece.gr/en/religion/religious_sites.
5
“Visit Greece: World Heritage Sites.” Visit Greece | The Official Website of the Greek Tourism Organisation,
www.visitgreece.gr/en/culture/world_heritage_sites.
6
“Culture.” Egyptian Tourism Authority. http://www.egypt.travel/en/experiences/culture.
7
“Egyptian Tourism Authority.” Egyptian Tourism Authority. Accessed October 19, 2019. http://egypt.travel/.
8
“Visit Greece: World Heritage Sites.” Visit Greece | The Official Website of the Greek Tourism Organisation,
www.visitgreece.gr/en/culture/world_heritage_sites.
that despite periods of political unrest throughout history, ancient Egyptians were able to create

architectural wonders that baffle visitors even today. Unlike Greece’s website, Egypt’s tourism

website specifically ties in Egyptian history and culture dependent on Egypt’s geography. Egypt

heavily markets the Nile, a hub of civilization, trade, and agriculture throughout ancient and

recent history as “a gift of sustenance”9 that is “arguably [the] most vital river in the world,”10

again playing on a sense of global importance to draw interest from potential tourists. While

Greece and Egypt both focus on advertising significant historical sites, Egypt also places heavy

emphasis on its modern resorts and amenities, drawing visitors interested in luxurious travel.

The tourism industry in Greece has steadily been expanding since 1995, and the past 5

years have seen record numbers of tourists visiting the country despite a slight decrease in 2019

(Table 1). Given the influx of tourists, Greece is beginning to struggle with overtourism, and the

strain on resources brought about by having too many people in the country. The European

Parliament’s Transport Committee has publicly reprimanded Greece for allowing so many

visitors in Santorini and recommends stronger policies regarding tourism from Greece’s central

government11. Greece is grappling with how to extend the “tourism season” to disperse the high

volumes of tourists over a longer period of time, as current data shows a significantly higher

number of tourists between the months of April and November.

Since 1982, Egypt has seen a general upward trend in tourism, reaching an all time high

in 2010-2011, and then dropping drastically after the onset of the Arab Spring (Figure 1).12

Besides a couple other major decreases in tourism during times of civil unrest in 2013 (military

9
“Cairo.” Egyptian Tourism Authority, www.egypt.travel/en/regions/nile-valley/cairo.
10
“Cairo.” Egyptian Tourism Authority, www.egypt.travel/en/regions/nile-valley/cairo.
11
“European Parliament: Overtourism Poses Risks for Santorini.” Greece Is. Accessed October 17, 2019.
http://www.greece-is.com/news/overtourism-hurts-santorini-says-european-parliament-report/.
12
“Egypt Profile - Timeline.” BBC News. BBC, January 7, 2019. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-
13315719.
coup) and 2016 (attacks on Giza), the Egyptian tourism industry has largely recovered since

2011 and is projected to continue to increase so long as the political climate remains relatively

stable (Figure 1).7 Further growth from Egypt’s tourism industry will likely depend upon its

ability to ensure tourists of safe travel.

Somewhat surprisingly, although Greece would appear to more effectively draw tourists,

Egypt has a more user-friendly website. Egypt’s website is well-designed, with eye-catching

videos and photos. In contrast, Greece’s website is not as intuitive, has many broken links, and is

not as visually appealing. This is likely due to Greece not needing to increase its number of

tourists, while Egypt is trying to recover from political unrest and grow its tourism industry.

While Egypt has thousands of tourists visit annually, Greece has millions visit annually (the

tourist to population ratio in Greece is almost 4 to 113).

Both countries play upon their historical significance to the world to market their

attractions, with Greece emphasizing its religious history, and Egypt highlighting its geographic

history. Greece’s tourism industry is well established and already plays a key role in their

economy. Egypt’s tourism has not grown exponentially like Greece’s, but it is rising as it

overcomes political setbacks. The future of tourism in both countries is heavily dependent on

further policy initiatives, with Greece focusing on supporting its strained tourism industry, and

Egypt focusing on expanding its tourism industry.

13
“Ιστορικό Ρεκόρ Για Τον Τουρισμό.” Αρχική. Accessed October 21, 2019.
http://www.topontiki.gr/article/141547/istoriko-rekor-gia-ton-toyrismo.
Appendix:
Table 1: Greece Tourism Numbers
Year Number of Tourists

1995 4.1 million

1998 6.2 million

2005 14.8 million

2010 15 million

2014 22 million

2015 23.6 million

2016 24.8 million

2017 27.4 milliion

2018 32 million

14

14
Smith, Oliver. “Overwhelmed: Greece the Latest Country to Be Overrun by Tourists.” Traveller, June 6, 2018.
https://www.traveller.com.au/greece-tourism-numbers-europes-latest-victim-of-overtourism-h110v6.
Figure 1: Egypt tourism growth from 1982-2019 with trendline