Egypt has opened the temporary antiquities exhibition “Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs” in Paris. The major travelling exhibition showcases the sarcophagus of Ramses II among many of Ancient Egypt’s greatest treasures. It is the first time in nearly 50 years that the sarcophagus of Ramses is displayed in Paris. Paris is the third stop for the exhibition after its stay in the first and second stops in two states in the United States of America. The exhibition will continue in Paris until 17 September.
The exhibition includes 181 unique artifacts that show some of the holdings of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir dating back to the era of King Ramses II, some artifacts from the discoveries of the Egyptian mission in the Bubastion area in Saqqara, and some of the distinctive characteristics of the ancient Egyptian civilization, especially in the Middle Ages, modern and even late times through a group Statues, ornaments, cosmetics, paintings, stone blocks decorated with inscriptions, and statues of deities in the form of birds and animals, in addition to some colored wooden coffins.
It is also the first time that the “Coffin of the Mummy of King Ramses II” is displayed outside Egypt in the exhibition, which comes in appreciation of the role of French scientists in providing assistance and support in the restoration and treatment of the mummy of King Ramesses II in 1976.
The exhibition also allows visitors who are fans of the ancient Egyptian civilization to experience the discovery of Abu Simbel Temple and Nefertari’s tomb through virtual reality technology.
It also displays a set of videos that tell the history of King Ramses II and the war battles he led, led by the Battle of Kadesh, as well as virtual visits that take the visitor on a journey through history with King Ramses II and his history.
Real Impact on tourism
No doubt that this exhibition will positively impact tourism in Egypt. But the question is how this will impact the turnout of the French tourists to Egypt, so Daily News Egypt contacted Mohamed Osman, the Head of the Committee for the Promotion of Cultural Tourism in Luxor to learn more about the impact of this exhibition in Tourism.
Mohamed Osman, the Head of the Committee for the Promotion of Cultural Tourism in Luxor, told Daily News Egypt that the committee expects that Egypt will witness a 20% hike in the number of the French tourists that are going to visit Egypt during the next tourism season.
He said that the French market is considered one of the most important tourism markets that are interested in cultural tourism, which means that their average spending is higher than other markets, especially that they prefer to come in a long stay, not a short one.
Osman expressed his happiness to see again the strong return of the French tourism market to Egypt, mentioning that the French and the Italian markets used to come during the last period in small numbers.
During the opening ceremony, the exhibition received a large number of visitors who were keen to visit it during its opening. It is worth noting that before the official opening of the exhibition in its current station in Paris, the exhibition sold 130,000 tickets, which heralds that this version of the exhibition will witness a great turnout, reminding us of the size of the success and high demand witnessed by the exhibition of King Tutankhamun, which was held in Paris a few years ago, and which was very popular. It is very large, as the number of its visitors exceeded more than one million, breaking the record in the history of organizing cultural events in France.
Also, In the early hours of the first day of opening its doors to the public, the Lafayette Gallery in the French capital, Paris, which hosts the temporary antiquities exhibition “Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs”, witnessed a great turnout of visitors who flocked from all over France to visit the exhibition.
Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said that 165,000 tickets have been sold so far, and the exhibition is expected to receive 10,000 visitors daily.
Waziri said that all French magazines and newspapers today are talking about the exhibition, as they covered the media for its official opening yesterday evening and the artifacts it includes, which is a good tool for promoting Egyptian tourism abroad, especially the cultural tourism product.
Meanwhile, During its first and second stops in two states in the United States of America, the temporary antiquities exhibition “Ramses and the Pharaohs’ Gold” witnessed a great turnout from its visitors, as its first stop was at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences in Houston, Texas, during the period from 20 November 2021 to 23 May 2022, and the second at the De Young Museum in the city of San Francisco, California, from 20 August 2022 to 22 January 2023.
Meanwhile, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa held an extensive meeting with a large group of senior and most important tour operators operating in the French market.
During this meeting, ways to enhance joint cooperation between the ministry and tour operators were discussed to attract more incoming tourist traffic to the Egyptian tourist destination, especially from the French market.
The Minister spoke about the Ministry’s general policies and the national strategy for the development of tourism in Egypt, reviewing the broad lines and the most prominent axes of this strategy represented in providing greater access to the Egyptian tourist destination and doubling the number of airline seats coming to Egypt in cooperation with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and working to encourage Improving the tourism investment climate in Egypt, as well as working to develop and improve the tourism experience in Egypt.
Issa reviewed the various procedures and programs offered by the Ministry for cooperation and encouragement of professional partnership with tour operators and local and international airlines, especially in light of the importance of their role in the tourism industry in Egypt and in a way that contributes to pushing more incoming tourist traffic to Egypt, including the aviation stimulus program, Joint marketing programs and promotions.
He touched on the efforts and plans undertaken by the ministry to raise the efficiency and upgrading of its supervisory role, and to develop the controls regulating tourism activities, in a way that contributes to developing the level of quality of services provided to tourists in the Egyptian tourist destination.
The Minister also listened to the views and suggestions of the attendees from the tour operators, and responded to their inquiries to push more incoming traffic to Egypt, in a way that contributes to spreading the highest degree of confidence among the tour operators and travel and tourism agents in the Egyptian tourist destination.
