Over the past four years, I repeatedly called for the necessity of establishing a new governorate on the North Coast under the name of Alamein Province, dividing the enormous area of the Matrouh Governorate, which totals a quarter of Egypt's entire area. On August 26, 2008, I wrote an article called "The governorate of Alamein". I called on all officials to work towards a better future by paying more attention to the North Coast, which has become a treasure trove for foreign tourists. It is also an important destination for domestic and Arab tourists. The North Coast has the potentials to attract tourists of different nationalities. It boasts the most splendid hotels and can accommodate huge numbers of tourists during the winter and summer season. This region should be given a chance to be turned into tourism hub by exploiting its facilities, particularly after conducting some restoration work on its hotels and beaches. In the same context, we should change the name of the North Coast as it does not mean anything to tourists and marketing abroad. For us it is north but for Europe it is south, in the east for North Africa and in the west for eastern Arab countries. Hence, we should choose another name for this region. We call on all those who are concerned with the future of this region to join us in discussing the options of developing and setting up a new governorate called Alamein, in addition to choosing a new name for the North Coast so it can compete internationally. I call on all concerned officials to create a new North Coast governorate, develop the region comprehensively and turn it into a huge destination for foreign and domestic tourists. On September 2, 2008, I published a number of viewpoints supporting the idea of establishing the governorate of Alamein. Mohamadi Heweidak said: "I think that establishing the province of Alamein will contribute to reinvigorating and developing the tourism sector in this important part of Egypt. Besides, it will boost the construction of residential properties, service facilities as well as enhance educational, industrial and agricultural development projects. It will also contribute to extending and accelerating the comprehensive development of the governorate." Ahmed Abdel Metaal said that creating a new governorate would contribute to developing the region from tourist and economic perspectives. He said that he supported changing the name of the North Coast to Alamein Beaches. Khaled el-Menawy said: "I support the idea of establishing a new governorate and changing the name of the North Coast to create a new global tourist destination capable of competing with Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh. I call on the concerned officials to accelerate the steps of establishing basic utilities, services, schools and hospitals in this region to guarantee family safety and stability for the workers and the foreign visitors coming from different parts of the world." Mansour Amer said that changing the name of the North Coast would attract tourists and boost the tourist movement in the region. "We need to take positive action by developing the region of Alamein and turn it into a great tourism hub similar to Hurghada and Sharm, with all the merits and advantages of the tourist centres. Dr Hisham Hafez, a professor at the Faculty of Urban Planning, said that the potentials of the region would enable it to become a major tourism centre and play a great role in preparing the region of Alamein for further comprehensive development. The Egyptian Tourist Authority plays a great role in tourism promotion of Mediterranean Sea beaches and changing their names to Alamein Beaches. I think we are in dire need of a new look and a comprehensive study towards choosing a marketing name for this region with the aim of making it successful when it comes to international competition in the field of tourism. This will be the programme of the new tourism campaign conducted by the company chosen for carrying out this task. [email protected][email protected]
