Desert tourism development in Egypt by application on the Western desert

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Tourism Studies Department, Faculty of Tourism and Hotels,Suez Canal University.

Abstract

The Egyptian Sahara Is part of the Great Sahara Desert of northern Africa, with an estimated area of about one million, two hundred Sq Km. The Nile Valley divides it to WesternDesert and EasternDesert. The NileValley is considered a river oasis covering about 4% of the area of Egypt where there is a high density of the population, agricultural and industrial activities. The WesternDesert is rich with geological phenomena due to the many ages it witnessed including the era when dinosaurs used to dominate the earth where their remains are found particularly the desert around the Fayoum and Baharia oasis. Also the spread of marine snails, the remains of whales and fossils of coral reefs.The most prominent oases of Western desert are Siwa, Baharia, Farafra, Eldakhla, Dakhla and Kharga Oasis. The Western desert is very thinly populated .the Oases are inhabitant by primitive society or tribes with special features, customs and rich heritage. One of the famous barbaric tribes (Amazigh). This research aims to shed light on the Egyptian desert as a source of sustainable tourism development in Western desert. The research highlights the role of desert tourism as a tourist product to contribute to the diversification of forms of tourism and to bring new tourists and new tourist markets, which will contribute to supporting the national economy. Therefore, the desert tourism will be on the map of tourist destinations and its distinctive products could be developed for the penetration of new markets.

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