The view from Le Meridien Pyramids Resort & Spa, located in the upcoming 'Pyramids/6th October City' area.
Viability director Guy Wilkinson reports from Cairo in Egypt, where he predicts a shift in the city’s traditional tourist havens and asks how established hotels will compete in the future
The traditional patterns of tourism in Cairo are about to change. Cultural attractions in the Egyptian capital received 6.2 million visitors in 2008, of which 2.7 million alone went to the Egyptian Museum, arguably one of the greatest museums anywhere. The 15,000m², 58-room Victorian edifice built in 1902 houses the world’s largest collection of ancient Egyptian exhibits (totalling some 120,000 items). It is reputed that many of its collections never see the light of day, being hidden away in dusty vaults that only top TV Egyptologist Zahy Hawass, or perhaps the fictional ‘Bembridge Scholars’ from the film The Mummy, ever see.
Located in Tahrir Square overlooking the Nile, the Egyptian Museum is a stone’s throw from the historic Khan El Khalili bazaar and within easy driving distance of the Citadel and Cairo’s Coptic attractions. With these glorious destinations firmly downtown, it was natural that large hotels would grow up along the banks of the Nile to serve them, not least the massive Marriott, Ramses Hilton, Semiramis InterContinental and Grand Hyatt properties, with 1088, 730, 818 and 715 rooms respectively.
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