Pharaoh's splendour online

Al Ahram Weekly (Nader Habib)

As part of development plans for modern-day Luxor, tourist services recently went online. The project implements the February 2005 cooperation protocol between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and HCLC to build the IT infrastructure needed to promote tourism in Luxor. Online services include virtual tours and a digital map of Luxor at www.luxoregypt.org, and are an effort by the government to boost and develop the tourism industry. In fact, the website has become the official gateway to tourism in Luxor.

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Tareq Kamel said that the website gives Egyptian tourism a boost by using IT tools to promote all the services available to tourists in a digital format, especially a first-time digital map which allows visitors to take a virtual tour of Luxor and provides them with e-services that enable them to easily access information about the city and its historic sites. Visitors can move around the city and visit landmark locations through interactive virtual pictures, and read detailed information about tourist sites from the comfort of their homes.

The virtual tours aim to entice visitors to travel in real time and tour the sites in person. The website also provides contact information for tourism companies in the city.