CAIRO – 16 June 2018: As Egypt was announced Official Regional Supporter of the 2018 FIFA World Cup^TM, ministries of investment and tourism already started expressing efforts to draw attention to Egypt as a tourist destination and a fertile soil for investment.

The contract signed between the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation and FIFA aims at promoting Egypt as a global destination that is capable of attracting more tourists and investments from all over the world.

During the second group A match, in which the Egyptian national team showed a splendid performance and largely survived until the 89^th minute, the in-stadium LED banners flashed promotional phrases of the campaign, such as “This is Egypt”, “Experience Egypt”, and “Invest in Egypt”.

PRESS PHOTO: "Experience Egypt", "Invest in Egypt" showing up on the stadium's LED banners

Egypt: 2018 FIFA Official Regional Sponsor:

According to Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr, the campaign is firmly focused on showcasing the wide spectrum of investment opportunities in the country.

“Being an Official Regional Supporter of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia^TM gives us the outreach in Africa to highlight and communicate the premium positioning and enormous investment diversity and potential Egypt has to offer,” Nasr added.

The contract marks the first World Cup sponsorship deal for FIFA in the past five years from outside China, Qatar and Russia.

For her part, Minister of Tourism Rania al-Mashat said the Investment Ministry’s campaign, namely “Egypt – Experience and Invest”, is willing to use the opportunity of the Egyptian qualification to the World Cup to showcase, in a modern way, the rich and rewarding diversity of tourism experiences that Egypt offers.

The Ministry of Tourism, according to Mashat, has been coordinating a wide campaign to promote Egypt during the World Cup events before the contract with FIFA.

The FIFA contract grants Egypt the right to have “Egypt — Experience, Invest” written next to the World Cup logo.

“Egypt — Experience, Invest” written next to the World Cup logo – FIFA

Lighting up the pyramids:

The Misr Co. for Sound, Light and Tourism Development, in collaboration with ministries of tourism, antiquities and investment, lit up the pyramids and the sphinx to celebrate the press conference that announced Egypt as an official FIFA regional sponsor.

Lighting up the pyramids in celebration of announcing Egypt regional supporter of FIFA 2018 World Cup – Egypt.travel/worldcup

Chairman of the company, Sameh Saad, said this move will benefit tourism and investment in Egypt greatly.

Land of opportunity, Ministry’s promotion plan:

“The land of opportunity, where business comes to life. Discover all the elements that would turn start-up to enterprise,” The Ministry of Investment posted on Instagram.

The land of opportunity, where business comes to life. Discover all the elements that would turn start-up to enterprise. #InvestInEgypt #Egypt #Business #SherketakFekretak #Falak

A post shared by وزارةالاستثمار والتعاون الدولي (@miicegypt) on Jun 15, 2018 at 9:47am PDT

The following are some steps that the Tourism Ministry plan to fulfill the campaign’s aims:

• A new dedicated microsite – www.egypt.travel/worldcup - will be available for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia^™

• In-stadium moving LED banners with floating "Experience Egypt" and "Invest in Egypt" words

• "This Is Egypt" to be transmitted on giant screens inside 11 stadiums

• Including a face filter with the tag @ExperienceEgypt on Snapchat and Facebook

• Giant digital billboards showcasing Egyptian tourist destinations in Russia, Germany, Spain, Poland, England, Scotland, and Wales

• A 30-second commercial to be broadcast at half time during all 64 matches; a total of 45 promotional hours

• Increased activities on social media platforms

The electronic billboards will be displayed in the following European cities that are main tourism target markets: Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt in Germany, Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia in Spain, Warsaw, Gdansk and Krakow in Poland, and London, Edinburgh and Cardiff in the UK, all in each location's language.

It is pertinent to mention that the commercials will be broadcast vial the following channels: Russia’s Match TV and Russia 1, Germany’s Sky Sports and Sky News International, Italy’s Media Set Extra, C5, L1, and C20, Ukraine’s Inter and NTN, and the UK’s ITV1 and ITV4.

As announced by Mashat, the promotional phase of the Ministry of Tourism will be “different”, while Ahmed Youssef, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian Authority for Tourism Development, said that the ministry aims to reach 2 billion viewers worldwide.

Youssef said that the campaign's mission is to encourage those who wish to visit the country, and therefore attract more tourists based on the visitors' assessment of their experience in Egypt.

“Social media is important to reflect the civilization of the country and we already use 17 languages to communicate with the whole world through advertisements and promotional plans,” Youssef added.

Invitation for 30 World Cup fans to visit Egypt, FOR FREE:

Minister of Tourism Mashat on June 14 said the ministry will organize a contest between the World Cup 2018 teams' supporters, so that winners will be offered a seven-day journey to Egypt.

Mashat said that 30 football fans will be granted a seven-day journey to Egypt free of charge, within the framework of the "golden ticket" contest organized by the Tourism Ministry.

Tickets will be granted to users with the most likes and views on pictures they will post while using #ThisisEgypt or mentioning @experienceegypt.

The promotional campaign started on Friday that marked Egypt's opener match against Uruguay in the World Cup.