20 | LETTERS


YOUR SHOUT


www.opp.org.uk | FEBRUARY 2012 What do you think?


Here at OPP, we really want to know what your thoughts are on the issues that affect our industry. So, please tell us what you think about the latest news and what you’d like to see discussed by joining our LinkedIn group, tweeting us @oppnews, e-mailing geoff.hadwick@richmondgreengroup.com, or writing us a good old-fashioned letter...


“Emerging” Egypt will become a successful, stable economy again soon


Dear Editor, There is so much negative spin concerning the current status of Egypt both as


a holiday destination and as a second home/property investment market that I have decided that it is time to set the record straight. I know Egypt well. I have dual nationality because I have an Egyptian


father and an English mother. My family and I lived here throughout the 2011 revolution and never at any time did we feel threatened, or even at risk ... quite the opposite in fact. The Egyptians love tourists, not just for their money, but also because they provide links with the outside world. I am a property broker and I believe that there are strong signs of an imminent


recovery. During the past year the people of Egypt have gone through some real highs and lows. After the revolution of January 25th 2011, and the elation that followed, came the realisation that nothing would change quickly after 60 years of repressive government and almost zero investment in the country’s infrastructure. The harsh reality is that after 60 years of dictatorship, there were no natural


successors to the ousted regime and without massive investment nothing was going to change quickly. In the political vacuum that followed, the Egyptian military took control of the country in order to restore order and soon after published their road map to the Presidential elections of June 2012. But Tahrir Square in Cairo, which had been the focal point during the revolution, continued to attract media attention from around the world. It provided a platform for Egyptians who were disgruntled because change was not coming fast enough. Their protests went on and Tahrir Square became the focus for continued negative media coverage. The result? Egypt dropped from hero to zero in just a few months. But what about the future? What the media failed to report was that, just days


after Mubarak’s departure, millions of Egyptians - of all faiths - and thousands of tourists took to the streets across the country in a show of national pride. Their weapons were brooms, and plastic bags to carry out the biggest mass clean-up the country had ever seen ... it was an unprecedented event. The recent elections passed peacefully and most observers, including the


international experts, seem pleased with the progress we have made. In speaking to many Egyptian people across the entire political spectrum, few have any doubt that once the new president is elected the army will indeed return to the barracks, and resume their traditional role of national defence. Of course, the success of the Muslim Brotherhood in the parliamentary


elections has again raised the spectre of an Islamist state, but Muslims and Christians stood shoulder-to-shoulder during the revolution and there are plenty of instances of the two faiths supporting each other in the community. It would be inconceivable in a country with 84 million people, and which is predominantly Muslim, if they did not take a lead in the elections. In Hurghada, Sharm el Sheikh, Marsa Alam and the other tourist hotspots along the Red Sea coast, life has continued as normal during the past year. There are no hooded militia-men roaming the streets, no vigilantes, no soldiers toting automatic weapons … just happy, peaceful people going about their daily business. But there is one major diff erence - they have a renewed pride in being Egyptian and a new vision for a brighter future. In a recent meeting with members of the Egyptian Businessmen’s Association,


Ahmed Suleiman, the head of the tourism committee at the Freedom and Justice Party, said that tourists would be free to wear, drink and eat what they want. “We’re very sorry that tourism was aff ected after the revolution,” he said. And


tourism Minister Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour said that revenues from tourism were US$8.8 billion in 2011, down from $12.5 billion in 2010. He wants to get things back on track. “We intend to encourage cultural tourism alongside beach tourism,” he said, adding that the party also intends to bring out statues of Pharaohs that are kept in warehouses, and display them along the banks of the Nile in an open-air museum. “We will also promote medical and incentive tourism as well,” he promises. Despite the problems Egypt has faced this year, tourists are still visiting the


country to see the ancient pyramids and museums, whilst others are simply choosing the country for its warm weather and popular Red Sea resorts. The fact that travel journalists are still writing that Egypt is a great place


to visit despite the revolution is a good sign that the country is on track to a healthy recovery. Further good news has come from HSBC. Its 2050 report last year predicted


that Egypt will surpass Saudi Arabia as the largest economy in the Middle East, and now the bank has dug deeper in its crystal ball-gazing research. The fi rst report limited its forecast to looking at the world’s 30 largest


economies by 2050 - but it has now expanded it to 100 nations and its underlying theme is that the economies we currently call “emerging” are going to power global growth over the next four decades. “We have identifi ed 26 fast-growth countries,” says HSBC. “They share a


very low level of development but have made great progress in improving fundamentals, which identifi es ‘fast growth’ above 5%. As they open themselves to the technology available elsewhere, they should enjoy many years of ‘copy and paste’ growth ahead. Besides China, India, the Philippines and Malaysia, this category includes Bangladesh, the central Asian countries of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, Peru and Ecuador in Latin America, and Egypt and Jordan in the Middle East.” Property prices in Egypt are amongst the lowest in the entire world. Where else


can you buy front-line beach properties from less than $1,000 per sqm? Egypt has some of the best weather in the world, the best beaches, the best diving and is only fi ve hours by plane from most European capitals. The world is waiting. Once the elections are over and Egypt settles to a calmer, free democratic future, I am predicting a property boom. Peter Mitry, Managing Director of Egypt Real Property Brokers. Hurghada. Egypt.


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