Agreement: Promotion of sustainable economic and social alternatives based on tourism in Upper Egypt with special attention to women and youth.

The tourism sector in Egypt has had a rapid recovery after the pandemic and requires efforts to resume its activity, consequently, demanding qualified personnel that do not exist due to gaps in access to training and other causes of exclusion of women and young people.

Under this premise, the agreement, developed jointly with CIDEAL, aims to contribute to inclusive and sustainable economic growth and decent work through three main lines of action:

• The promotion of training and employment opportunities in the tourism sector for women, young people and students at technical secondary schools in the hostelry industry:

The training of women, young people, and students at secondary technical schools in the hostelry industry and the establishment of safe spaces for personal and professional growth will generate professional skills that will help reduce the opportunity gap and allow productive access to the most vulnerable and, therefore, their financial independence.

•  The generation of innovative and sustainable entrepreneurial opportunities in the tourism sector capable of generating income:

The creation of new innovative and sustainable ventures oriented to international tourism, valuing the potential of the rural areas of Aswan and Luxor, will have a community impact, laying the foundations for a change of mentality and knowledge exchange. Work will be done on its promotion, the strengthening of the value chains connected with the opportunities of this tourism sector and the consolidation of knowledge, capacities and the interaction of local tourism and innovation actors.

• The promotion of sustainable rural tourism in Upper Egypt with the participation of different leading institutions and companies in the sector, which generates sufficient employment and resources:

Skilled workers and entrepreneurs of today and tomorrow will be trained and sustainability will be guaranteed, working under a process that offers guarantees of success and possibilities of scale and replicability. For this, it is intended to consolidate spaces and local actors for the promotion of sustainable rural tourism in Upper Egypt, to increase and strengthen the knowledge, capacities, and interaction of local agents in tourism and innovation, as well as improve the position of the tourist complex of Abu Korkas as the nerve centre of rural tourism in Upper Egypt.

In this way, the agreement has a multisectoral approach and is in line with some of the objectives of the United Nations 2030 Agenda, specifically with economic development, social justice, education, and training.