Another travel blogger strikes again after Lauren Bullen, AKA Gypsea Lust, wrote one harsh post about her experience in Egypt. This time, Sarah Richards, a British travel blogger who lived in Egypt for six months, just published a post on how Om El Donya has a problem with tourism that needs to be solved immediately.
Richards’ stay in Egypt was not sponsored whatsoever. In fact, she has always promoted the country, and this post was made out of love and care. Her main focus was charging foreigners higher prices, garbage, animal cruelty and our unreliable transportation system. She addressed every single Egyptian to stop ignoring the problem, which is why we thought it’s only right to compile a list of simple things each of us could do to contribute to fixing this crisis.
Stick around
If you happen to have any foreign friends who are paying the country a visit, try to stick to them and show them around yourself. Be their tour guide (and their bodyguard if need be). Having a local with them will save them a lot of time getting lost. Also, it will be harder for sellers to bother them or rip them off when you’re around. Not to mention that this is going to be a great opportunity for you to show them our Egyptian hospitality.
Help with the itinerary
Tourists only know about the mainstream touristy destinations. You can provide them with your local insight by telling them what they can drop out of their itinerary and what’s not to miss. You can also show them the hidden gems — such as Fayoum (look above) — all around the country, we have a lot of those.
Be a good example
Stand in line, throw your garbage in the trash cans, and don’t run a red light. Most importantly, protect our monuments and historic sites. Some people have a habit of not respecting the treasures our ancestors left behind. Don’t be one of those and if you see any, stop them.
Don’t hesitate to give advice
If you stumble upon tourists anywhere, don’t hesitate to stop and offer help. Tell them not to go to that shop for souvenirs because it’s a ripoff, tell them about the best local eat-outs where they can have traditional Egyptian dishes, or maybe just stop for a friendly talk. Just don’t forget to smile.
Raise awareness
If you offer advice to tourists, why don’t you do the same to locals as well? If you see a camel or a horse being mistreated in Nazlet el Seman, talk to the owner and tell them how notorious their act is, and how this is not helping them win any customer. If you see local tourists throwing their rubbish on the floor, it’s okay to step in politely and ask them to throw it in the bin instead.
Finally, promote your country
This is probably the least we could do. Our land has so much to offer the world and we need to be proud of what we have. So go ahead and promote the beauty and history our homeland offers, because if we don’t, who else will?