El Gouna’s Future ?
Hubert Savelberg
Responsible Editor El Gouna Times
After handing over my job as Founder/CEO of our belgian internet company to my eldest son, I discovered El Gouna in 2004. I discovered El Gouna, and learned to love it. Restless as I still am, meanwhile I’ve founded the El Gouna Times, the interactive online news magazine you are reading right now.
Today I want to give some of my reflections about the future of El Gouna from my (perhaps controversial) point of view, after having visited El Gouna several times: last year twice as an Mövenpick Hotel guest, and this year totalling 3 months when renting an appartment in West Golf at various visits.
El Gouna is a wonderful place to spend your holidays or to work or live here as a resident. But some work need to be done to keep it like that and even improve it.
In my function as editor of the El Gouna Times I’ve spoken those last months to a lot of business people, tourists, residents and some of Orascom’s employees. (Orascom Hotel and Development being the owning company of El Gouna).
From those meetings I’ve learned that Orascom is willing to improve living conditions for tourists and residents, but at the same time the Egyptian culture and mentality sometimes slows down those efforts.
If El Gouna should prosper towards a thriving community for tourists and residents, there are some aspects to be considered:
1. All Inclusive packages. One of the charming aspects of El Gouna are the several shopping centres and numereous restaurants where people can stroll and dine without being hassled by the shopkeepers; a big advantage compared to Hurghada.
But tourists visiting El Gouna are more and more welcomed by All Inclusive packages in the hotels: those AI packages will become however the death of the many small business and restaurants in El Gouna if hotel guests remain inside the hotel resorts. Too many shops and restaurants for too few people. Shopkeepers will start to hassle tourist to survive if there is not enough turnover to pay the rent and living costs. We know that several hotels are still under Orascom Management: at least here the management should stop with the All Inclusive Formula.2. Too few residents. Another reason for too few people: a lot of building construction is still going on in El Gouna, but most of those properties are only being used by owners for staying in El Gouna two or three times a year and only for some weeks. Look at the white villa compounds… a lot of space, but nobody at home, nobody spending any money in El Gouna. Orascom should realize that the future of a prospering El Gouna depends of affordable properties that can be rented out at affordable prices.
3. More rental objects. Because what El Gouna need are more affordable rental objects: appartments and small villas at “affordable” prices. Owners should consider that, if they do not rent out their property during the periodes they are not using it for themselves, they risk to loose that extra money value they expect from their longterm investment. More people renting properties will stimulate turnover at the local shops and restaurants, under condition that the shops will offer the right choice of products.
4. Another issue: wrong choice of products in many shops in El Gouna. Most of the visitors to El Gouna do not come to El Gouna to buy Egyptian souvenirs… they come for sun, diving, relaxing and for fun. Residents want to buy better quality products, not just cheap T-shirts. A better education for the local shopkeepers is needed to better respond to the expectations of tourists. How about a kind of local chamber of commerce, european style?
5. Staff housing. If Orascom plans yet more shops, (and they do, see DownTown, see Abu Tig Marina, and see the newly planned Marina), Orascom should not forget that shopkeepers need also housing for their staff at affordable prices. If shopkeepers cannot attract competent staff, El Gouna will become a second Hurghada. And nobody wants that to happen!
6. Listen to the Europeans. Orascom should listen more often to the wishes of the European residents, as those residents have European expectations which do not always become fullfilled in Egypt. Points of concerns are traffic security, better communication and follow-up of organisational and maintenance issues. If you put your stock on the London Stock Exchange, and if you want to attract european money for your projects, you cannot close your eyes for european expectations.
7. Security. Keep El Gouna a safer place than the rest of Egypt. As we have already mentioned in earlier articles, some additional efforts should be made by Orascom to improve traffic security. Obligation for all vehicles to drive with lights on (day and night) and installing some speed bumps to reduce speed are just a few ideas that can be easily realized.
8. Community Feeling. Due to the nature of El Gouna, (most tourists and visitors are only during short times in El Gouna) it was up to now quite difficult for El Gouna fans to get an followup about who is who and what’s happening in El Gouna when not being around. The El Gouna Times will start from now on, and at least on a weekly base, to improve the community feeling: a number of freelance correspondents will be hired to bring you the latest gossip and news from El Gouna to your computer, no matter where you are.
And like in our past prerelease versions, membership as well as advertisements in the El Gouna Times remain free of charge. We hope you’ll enjoy our publication.
As always, you, our readers, are invited to express your comments via the link Write A Comment… here below.
Thank you for your attention, and enjoy El Gouna!
Hubert
October 16th, 2005 at 18:46
Hi Hubert - thanks for today’s information on the El Gouna Times Web Sites - I think you have raised some of the same things we have thought.
We are not sure who would be managing some of the difficulties or improvements suggested or whether El Gouna is just developing organically. I have always questioned how the shops and restaurants make enough money to survive as a business. Every time I have been to El Gouna there seems to be very few people there even in the hotels.
I hope we can meet up in November and maybe chat about some of these things.
In the meantime, yesterday I discovered (by accident) all of the wonderful photographs you made of our Duplex W1-0-4. I was so excited that I then managed to lose them all somewhere and cannot get them back.
When I open the album file now it tells me the number of images that there are but will not anymore show me the photographs. Would you please post them again for us as we were thrilled and wanted to download them. Many thanks and look forward to November in El Gouna - Vicky
Hi Vicky, tx for your response to this article. And sure we can meet in November. About the pictures in our Photo Album: the bug has been fixed by now and the pictures are available again. Greetings, Hubert
October 17th, 2005 at 09:34
Hallo Hubert,
Kompliment an deinen Artikel, den ich voll unterschreiben kann.
Ich war vor fünf Jahren das erste Mal in Ägypten (HGH). Es ist sicherlich ein Riesenvorteil für das Land nur gut vier Flugstunden von D entfernt ein immer noch gutes Preis-/ Leistungsverhältnis, permanente Sonne und vor allem schöne Tauchreviere zu haben. Allerdings gefiel mir HGH nicht so gut und es zog mich vor drei Jahren erstmals nach El Gouna. Natürlich beeindruckte mich dieses “Disneyland am Roten Meer”, denn es bot alles was in HGH störte: z.B. Sauberkeit, kein Anquatschen, Infrastruktur und eine schöne Marina. So haben auch wir uns damals für eine Immobilie interessiert, der Kauf scheiterte allerdings daran, dass sich der Orascom-Vertreter nicht wirklich Mühe gab (höflich ausgedrückt). Eigentlich schade, wenn man sich die Entwicklung der Immobilienpreise anschaut. Man hätte gutes Geld verdienen können.
Und damit bin ich am Punkt. Die Immobilienpreise sind nur von einer bestimmten Klientel zu bezahlen, die genügend übrig haben, denn Finanzierung ist ja nicht möglich. Dazu kommen Flugpreise, die deutlich über einem Mallorca-Schuttle liegen und die sich nicht jeder viermal im Jahr erlauben kann. Doch gerade dieses Publikum erwartet mehr vor Ort, wie du ja geschrieben hast, und davon ist El Gouna ein großes Stück entfernt. Aber ich bin nicht dafür eine Schicki - Micki Siedlung aufzubauen, davon gibt es in Europa genug. Ich glaube, die Mischung macht´s und dafür fehlen auch Appartements, die für kurze oder längere Zeit auf einfache Art und Weise zu mieten sind.
Wir gehen immer ins Sheraton, weil dies nach unserer Meinung ein sensationelles Preis-/ Leistungsverhäjtnis bietet. Wenn man aber weiß, dass es in El Gouna eine große Zahl guter und günstiger Retsaurants gibt würden wir gerne auch ein Bed & Breakfast wählen. Dies wird aber so gut wie gar nicht mehr angeboten. Ist man per Halfboard oder AI “abgesichert” entdeckt man kaum noch die kullinarischen Vorzüge einiger Restaurants. Dine Around ist zwar ganz nett, aber auf Dauer nicht wirklich interessant.
Ich weiß nicht welchen Einfluss die Residents in El Gouna haben, ob ihre Stimme von der Orascon erhört wird. Ich lese hier zwar ab und zu von Stammtischen vor Ort, aber so richtig scheint das auch nicht zu funktionieren. Die Residents sind die einzigen die mit ihrem europäischen Denken El Gouna auch auf lange Sicht europäische Gäste sichern können, auch wenn ich weiß wie schwer es teilweise ist sich in unterschiedlichen Kulturen auf einen gemeinsamen Weg zu einigen.
Wir betrachten die Entwicklung in El Gouna mit großem Interesse aus der Distanz und ab nächster Woche auch wieder vor Ort. Interessant scheint mir aber auch zu beobachten wie neue Projekte auf die Erfahrungen in El Gouna reagieren. Ich möchte hier Port Ghalib ansprechen. Dem Masterplan nach zu urteilen, ist El Gouna dagegen ein kleiner Stadtteil. Auch die Erfahrung der arabischen Investoren scheint Hoffnung zu geben. Mal schauen was dabei rauskommt.
So, genug gequatscht. Ich wünsche allen Touristen und Residents in El Gouna eine schöne Zeit.
Mick
October 17th, 2005 at 11:16
Hi Hubert, Well done for all your efforts and hopefully your comments will be noted and actually acted upon. El Gouna is not perfect, but where is. Let us hope though eventually it will be as good as it can be for everybody, although hopefully not turning into a Little Europe. We all come to, and buy property in, a country that is not like our own because, as well as the sunshine, we want to be somewhere different. Keep up the good work. Regards, Jenny.
October 22nd, 2005 at 19:08
Hi Hubert, agree with all that’s being brought up {except the speed humps } and i wonder if the shortfall of visitors may be partly down to the lack of media & advertising of elgouna in ALL countries. Here in the U.K the papers & tele-text are all Sharm, Sharm and more of sharm! recently the B.B.C. Holiday programme did a half hour show on Elgouna , and what a DISASTER!! A 2 minute talk with the owner, with part of the Marina in the background , 16 minutes with the lady presenter talking about how she feared DIVING, a minute getting instruction and 2minutes with the fishes!! NO Real Elgouna, Shops, homes, Hotels beaches Eateries Etc Etc. We both work and in contact of say approx 300 people, and iv’e yet to meet one who knows where elgouna is. even my friend ’s daughter this year booked 2 weeks in Hurgada, and even though we’ve talked alot about elgouna, the local travel agents have Little or No information on our town?
All the best to everyone. keep up the great work. Ps, any chance of an update on the
young lady who had the road accident. as our thoughts are with her and the family. Ron Green fife SCOTLAND