| Area General Manager, Intercontinental Cairo, Holiday Inn, Staybridge suites Cairo Citystars |
| By Noha Mohammed |
| Simon Stamper brings with him over 25 years experience in the hospitality industry and is no stranger to Cairo, having previously held a managerial position at Semiramis InterContinental as well as a number of other managerial roles with IHG across key hotel functions in Europe, the UK, Mediterranean and the Middle East. What is your favorite vacation destination in Egypt and why? Egypt is one of the most popular tourist countries in the world, full of things to do and places to visit. It cannot be compared to any other country when it comes to its beautiful monuments, historical sites as well as activities. My favorite vacation destination in Egypt is the Red Sea Riviera, Sharm El-Sheikh and Na’ama, where I can relax and enjoy snorkeling and a range of other water sports. How do you like to spend your vacation? Generally, I like to spend my vacation with my family relaxing, away from job duties and work stress, so we usually travel either inside or outside Egypt to new destinations. On the weekends and when I cannot travel, I love to play golf; the open-air breezy golf course is a tonic. What is your favorite traditional Egyptian food and where (outside your hotel) do you like to go for an enjoyable meal? At your hotel, what is your favorite meal? My favorite traditional Egyptian food is mezzah in general, especially hummus and tahina. I usually have them at Felfela where I can get a true and authentic flavor of Egypt. As for my favorite meal in the hotel, it’s grilled items like the Tomahawk steak at Al Bustan Grill. Now more than ever we need to promote tourism in Egypt. What efforts is your establishment making toward this goal? We are trying to attract business from different European and emerging markets in the Far East and Latin America for our leisure & MICE segments. We are also focusing on our local market by offering value-added packages throughout the week. Our sales team also plans regular sales trips to our key feeder markets to meet our partners to identify potential business leads and increase direct business, especially that we have three different hotel brands at Citystars that can cater to the different needs of our international travelers. If you could recommend just one thing an Egyptian should see or do in Egypt, what would it be? Take a walk in Al Moez Street in Islamic Cairo, one of the best medieval architectural treasures I have seen. The street was renovated a few years ago, and it embraces walls and gates that witnessed many important events throughout Egyptian history. |
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