CAIRO: The Ministry of Tourism is currently developing a new scheme for the classification of hotels in Egypt, ministry spokesperson Hala El-Khatib told Daily News Egypt.
The new scheme, which will be developed with the support of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), will give more attention to service, including hygiene, amenities, hospitality and staff efficiency.
So far, the emphasis in classification has been on the quality of buildings, establishments and capacity, said El-Khatib, but now we want to emphasize the often overlooked elements of a successful tourism establishment by rating factors related to the service provided to guests during their stay in Egypt.
According to El-Khatib, the standards will be set with the Egyptian Hotels Association and will be in line with the recommendations set by the International Hotel and Restaurant Association (IHRA).
There are no global standards for rating hotels because every country has different economic and cultural factors that play an essential role in determining the elements of the classification, El-Khatib added, and it is hard to standardize classifications across all countries.
This is why we have to further develop our own standards to ensure hotels do not promise guests a certain level of quality which they cannot fulfill, a practice that can negatively affect the reputation of the whole country, and accordingly the tourism industry, she said.
The details of the new system are yet to be announced, as the idea was first discussed during the World Travel Market in London last month. Presently, El-Khatib says, they are hiring qualified experts to develop the new scheme.
