Cairo, Egypt – 30 September 2026: Al Ismaelia for Real Estate Investment has become the first Egyptian company and the first in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to receive the World Economic Forum’s Beyond Tourism Impact Stars recognition in the Infrastructure and Real Estate category for its work restoring historic buildings and bringing them into active use across Downtown Cairo. The company’s “Reviving Downtown Cairo” initiative was selected among six winners worldwide in the program’s inaugural cohort. Karim Shafei received the recognition on behalf of the company during the Forum’s Beyond Tourism Day in Geneva, Switzerland, on 25 September.
Developed by the World Economic Forum in partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Tourism and in collaboration with Kearney, Beyond Tourism Impact Stars recognizes commercially viable, private-sector initiatives that address travel and tourism challenges and deliver measurable benefits for businesses, destinations and communities. Al Ismaelia’s approach connects architectural preservation with the everyday economic and cultural life of Downtown, creating spaces for hospitality, businesses, independent Egyptian brands and cultural activity. By bringing these experiences together within the district, the company is helping position Downtown as a destination worth an additional day in visitors’ travel plans, encouraging tourists to spend more time exploring Cairo and its local businesses.
Karim Shafei said: “Downtown’s architecture is an extraordinary asset, and its future depends on people continuing to use it. Every business that opens, every person who chooses to work here and every visitor who comes back helps sustain the buildings we restore. We want visitors to make room for another day in Cairo to walk through Downtown, discover Egyptian designers, enjoy a meal and experience the culture within these buildings. That extra day creates opportunities for the businesses and people who make the neighborhood what it is. Being the first company in the region recognized in this category puts Downtown Cairo forward as an example of how urban heritage can support tourism and local businesses. This recognition gives international visibility to an approach we have been developing since 2008. We are actively making heritage a productive part of the city’s life, with commercial uses that fund its upkeep and cultural activity that gives people reasons to return.”
For Egypt, the recognition comes at a time when diversifying the tourism product, developing destinations, maximizing tourism’s economic return and attracting private investment beyond the country’s traditional tourism circuits are increasingly important. It draws international attention to how heritage-led urban regeneration can turn historic and architectural assets into platforms for economic growth, tourism, entrepreneurship and investment, while creating employment opportunities and supporting quality of life and local identity. Through adaptive reuse, which gives historic buildings new functions while preserving their architectural character, these areas can support hospitality, creative businesses and employment while retaining their local identity. Al Ismaelia’s experience offers a model for other Egyptian cities to draw on, linking destination development with heritage conservation and economic opportunities for local communities, and demonstrating how heritage can be activated as a productive asset rather than preserved in isolation.
Established in 2008, Al Ismaelia acquires and restores significant buildings, adapting them for contemporary uses while preserving their architectural character. Its work spans a network of 25 properties across Downtown, with different spaces serving the needs of people who live, work, stay and spend time in the area. Together, these uses help connect individual buildings to the wider district.
That approach takes different forms across the portfolio. Cinema Radio combines cultural events with offices, shops and food and beverage venues. La Viennoise Building brings together a boutique hotel, a rooftop venue and spaces for local brands within a restored historic property, connecting hospitality with shopping and dining. Nabarawy Fashion Hub provides a home for independent Egyptian fashion brands. Tamara Haus brings hospitality, dining, design, shops and cultural activity together in a restored heritage property.
Cultural programming and the selection of businesses within these buildings are central to how the properties operate. Events, creative enterprises and hospitality venues give people different reasons to visit Downtown and explore its spaces. Commercial activity, in turn, supports the ongoing maintenance that historic buildings require.
Through this work, Al Ismaelia contributes to Downtown Cairo’s wider revival alongside public institutions, local businesses, cultural organizations and other stakeholders. Its experience offers a practical approach to sustaining urban heritage by restoring buildings, finding viable uses for them and connecting those uses to the life of the surrounding neighborhood.
As a member of the inaugural Beyond Tourism Impact Stars cohort, Al Ismaelia will take part in a year-long program with the World Economic Forum to share lessons from its work, exchange knowledge and explore opportunities for wider adoption of successful approaches. The program provides an international platform for the company’s experience in Downtown Cairo, with potential relevance for other historic urban districts across the region.