Tag Archives: private sector

Egypt to privatise airport management

 

Egypt has initiated the executive process to privatise the management and operation of its airports, as announced in a Cabinet statement on Monday. The move is part of a broader strategy to transition the oversight of critical logistics and transportation entities to the private sector, with the aviation industry leading the way.

Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Abbas Helmy stated that Egypt is preparing to launch an international tender for the operation of its airports, including the major hub, Cairo International Airport. This initiative aligns with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly’s declaration in November 2023, outlining plans to extend private sector management to seaports, dry ports, and airports.

Madbouly emphasised a commitment to building partnerships with private entities for the stewardship and operational aspects of mass transit systems. The Egyptian Transport Ministry, in collaboration with global corporations, has formulated an integrated strategy to localise the industry.

Support for Egypt’s private sector and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) received a significant boost in July 2023, with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) providing USD 533.7 million. This funding aligns with Egypt’s broader privatisation and restructuring measures for the public sector.

As part of the Egypt 2022-2027 strategy launched by Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat in March 2022, the EBRD approved USD 400 million in development financing for the National Bank of Egypt. This support is specifically aimed at bolstering SMEs, with a focus on regional companies led or owned by young entrepreneurs. An additional USD 100 million was allocated to Banque Misr to enhance financing for SMEs, promoting inclusive and sustainable growth, particularly in areas with limited access to financial services.

The EBRD also granted funding of EUR 30.2 million (USD 33.7 million) for the Mediterrania Capital IV Fund, further contributing to Egypt’s efforts to strengthen its private sector and encourage economic growth.

Women’s Participation in Travel & Tourism Critical to Growth of Global Sector: WTTC

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) reiterated the importance of women’s engagement in Travel & Tourism to catapult its growth and achieve a thriving and resilient sector at the Women Deliver Global Conference, in Kigali, Rwanda.

Speaking at the conference, Julia Simpson, President & CEO, WTTC, emphasised the importance of promoting women’s involvement in the sector and overcoming challenges for success in the business world.

The event served as a platform to address the challenges faced by women in the Travel & Tourism sector and explore strategies to overcome them, aiming to inspire change and promote equal opportunities for women in the sector.

The panel discussions shed light on the challenges faced by women in various aspects of the business, including barriers to entry, operational obstacles, and ecosystem limitations.

The event underscored the vital role of mentorship in empowering young women and girls in business. Through networking, opportunities, and resources, mentorship programs unlock their potential for economic transformation.

During her address, Simpson said: “It is proven that companies that have 50% women in their leadership make more money. This makes even more sense in travel and tourism where women make the buying decisions on where to go on holiday.

“It also makes good sense to employ women in senior roles; why would you exclude access to 50% of global talent.

“Rwanda has a great track record with a majority of women MPs in the Parliament. President Kagame addressed the Women Deliver, for the first time held in Africa, with real passion and a track record of gender equality.

“Putting women centre stage in Travel & Tourism will ensure a better future for the sector and the global economy. Currently, more than half of the sector is made up of women.

“By addressing the barriers and inequalities they face, we can unlock immense potential and drive sustainable growth.

“The ‘Women Deliver’ event serves as a catalyst for change, bringing together sector leaders, policymakers, and advocates to work collectively towards a more diverse and prosperous future.”

According to the global tourism body, women constitute approximately 54% of the workforce. Travel & Tourism provides accessible opportunities for women, but it also faces disparities such as lower pay and job security.

These disparities were reflected in the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact, where a majority of the 62 million jobs lost in the travel and tourism sector were women’s jobs.

WTTC urges both the public and private sectors to play their part in promoting women’s participation in the Travel & Tourism sector. It says governments should adopt policies that promote women in senior management, such as mandatory quotas for publicly listed companies and state-owned enterprises.

The private sector should offer targeted professional development programs for women and create networking and mentoring opportunities.

WTTC’s Destination Stewardship model provides framework for responsible growth

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has launched a new report which reveals how destinations can grow responsibly, using the Destination Stewardship model. ‘Towards Destination Stewardship: Achieving Destination Stewardship through scenarios & a Governance Diagnostics framework’ lays out how destinations can balance the needs of visitors and residents, with the involvement of both the public and private sector.

The report was launched in partnership with the Travel Foundation and the European Tourism Futures Institute (ETFI) at NHL Stenden University, in the Netherlands.

Destination Stewardship is based on the responsible use of shared or ‘common pool’ resources, which provide diminished benefits if each individual participant or group pursues their own self-interest.
The WTTC report offers scenarios and ways forward for organisations such as Tourism Ministries and Destination Management Organisations that seek to better understand how changes in governance structures could support greater destination stewardship.

It presents four Destination Stewardship scenarios, based on varying levels of engagement from the public and private sector, which show how differing levels of support can produce different outcomes with the aim of creating a commonsense roadmap towards greater stewardship.

Virginia Messina, Senior Vice President and Acting CEO, WTTC, said, “The suspension of much recent Travel & Tourism activity due to the pandemic has enabled destinations to rethink their approach to how they look after their destinations and refocus on sustainability issues and smarter tourism development.”

“WTTC believes this major new report points a way forward for the Travel & Tourism sector following the growing interest in Destination Stewardship, which has been accelerated during the COVID-19 crisis.

There has similarly been a rising call for social inclusion, new enabling technologies, a growing need for resilience and increasing governmental interest in destination governance, so this report comes at just the right time.”
“We believe this important and timely report will allow relevant stakeholders to explore how more responsible Destination Stewardship will work for them as the world begins to gradually reopen.”

Destination stewardship requires a shared understanding of the common good, and effective platforms for collaboration with shared objectives and measurements of success that go beyond traditional growth metrics, such as visitor arrivals and overall spend.

These new models of collaboration must deliver on market expectations while at the same time also supporting the needs of host communities.

Maya Janssen, Managing Director Insights & Marketing Strategy, Amsterdam & Partners said, “In Amsterdam, our approach aligns very well with this report. Amsterdam & partners is the connector that brings together city authorities, inhabitants, industry, and cultural institutions. We have built good relations and trust, but our 2025 ambition and vision redesigning the visitor economy of Amsterdam requires us to also build new institutional mechanisms to influence change.”

The report lists the most important triggers of Destination Stewardship, from managing supply and demand, destination governance, sustainability, the evolving visitor economy and resilience to social inclusion.
Barriers to Destination Stewardship, includes lack of a clear mandate, clashing cultures and agendas, insufficient knowledge and data, as well as a fragmented travel & tourism sector.