Egypt Sidelines Locals by Importing Global Travel Influencers to Boost Luxury Tourism

Vietnamese travel and lifestyle influencer Bé Hà Nguyen can be seen on her official Instagram page frolicking at a Red Sea beach resort in a bikini while embracing her partner for a kiss in Cairo — all under the #ExperienceEgypt hashtag in scenes that you typically wouldn’t see in a country like Egypt. That's because Egyptian authorities are intolerant of such displays of personal freedom, while state media is critical and sometimes incites hatred against women or LGBTQ+ individuals for engaging in what most people around the world would consider everyday behavior. But for authorities, Ngyuen is an influencer who comes with clout — a following of over 515,000 users on Instagram and media connections back home. Nguyen, who lives in Prague, visited Egypt earlier this month as part of the Ministry of Tourism's campaign to market the country in a post-pandemic world. The ministry, officially known on Twitter and Instagram as @ExperienceEgypt, invited a group of vloggers and influencers with hundreds of thousands of followers to post pictures and videos from various scenic locations. While Egypt may have a lot to offer when it comes to beautiful destinations, from its pristine Red Sea coastline to white desert dunes in Al Farafra, the campaign felt out of touch and far-removed from reality due to the pandemic, as well as ongoing human rights abuses in the Arab world’s most populous country. “Though there is still much work to be done, it is safe to say that