Rebounding Egypt Offers New Opportunities for Enterprising Tour Guides
Skift Take
E-commerce is unlocking new opportunities for travel and tourism gurus in Egypt and the Middle East. Local entrepreneurs are attempting to capitalize on the convenience of having an online business, but filling the gap for much-needed niche tourism services can be difficult to accomplish in a highly competitive market.
Mohamed Turisi was 20 years old and still living at home with his parents when his hopes of becoming a civil engineer in Egypt were completely dashed. Not only had he lost interest in becoming part of its oversaturated job market, but his job prospects in Egypt looked very slim. Unemployment in Egypt currently stands at 7.8 percent as of third quarter 2019.
“I thought I was happy,” he told Skift. “What made me realize I don’t belong there was the fact that my starting salary as an architecture trainee would be only EGP 300–500 ($18.70–31).”
This is when Turisi realized he had to shift paths and finally leave home.
The young man, who hails from the rural Mediterranean city of Mansoura, ventured out on his own to make it in the capital city of Cairo. The city, which is the largest in Africa, as well as the Arab world, is home to over 9.5 million inhabitants. It’s also where many of Egypt's ancient wonders are located, including the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Nile, the Church of Virgin Mary, and Coptic Cairo. Egypt’s second largest city, Alexandria, is also conveniently two hours away on the Mediterranean.
Although he grew up in a rural town
