Development of visitor services in Egypt’s archaeological sites, museums

CAIRO – 4 July 2021: Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled El-Enani  held a meeting to discuss ways to develop visitor services at archaeological sites and museums nationwide. The meeting was attended by Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mustafa Waziri and a number of ministry leaders.

During the meeting, the basic services being provided in the 30 most visited archaeological sites and museums were reviewed, as a first stage. Contracts are being prepared to purchase 200 seats, and 200 garbage bins with a recycling system, as well as toilet facilities.

This came within the framework of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities' keenness to improve the services at archaeological sites and museums and improve the visitors' experience as a whole.

Also, the officials discussed raising the efficiency of fixed and mobile toilets, and visitor centers and providing them with digital services and interactive screens.

It is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities had finished raising the efficiency of tourist services in a number of archaeological sites in the governorates of Cairo, Giza, Fayoum, Sohag, Luxor and Aswan. These included the provision of indicative and explanatory panels and maps, the development of visitor centers and restrooms, the construction of umbrellas and seats for the convenience of visitors, installing garbage baskets designed for recycling, and providing brochures on these sites and museums in both Arabic and English.

This is in addition to making a barcode available to enable the visitor to identify all archaeological information about the area or museum, using smart phone apps, to preserve the environment.

The development works also include making these museums and archaeological sites suitable for people with special needs by rehabilitating movement paths and providing brochures in Braille, subtitling films in visitor centers in sign language, and other services that improve the visitors experience.