An Assessment of Sustainable Tourism Planning for the Archaeological Heritage: The Case of Egypt

Archaeological tourist destinations are a distinctive tourist product that depend upon a fragile and non-renewable resource. Egypt is abundant in different types of historical treasures that go back almost 3000 years and is considered one of the most significant archaeological tourist destinations in the world. This paper argues that the conservation of such archaeological attractions, along with the mitigation of negative tourism impacts, requires integration and implementation of sustainable development principles in tourism planning and management. Co-ordinating the efforts of the relevant public authorities and other stakeholders in the preservation of monuments is a key element in the success of any sustainable development policy, and as this paper shows, the organisational structure of agencies in Egypt renders the implementation of such a policy problematic. In this paper we examine the adequacy of the Egyptian tourism planning framework to deliver sustainable archaeological heritage sites. This task has entailed the evaluation of Egyptian tourist policies, strategies, plans and techniques, as these are considered to be the key elements of the planning framework. The study investigates points of strength and weakness in the tourism planning process, identifies gaps in the levels of the Egyptian tourism-planning framework and offers appropriate recommendations.