Eslam Bayoumy, Director of exhibitions at the General Egyptian Book Authority, said in exclusive statements to “Trendify” that according to the coronavirus imposed precautionary measures, the Cairo International Book Fair’s website is managed from a designated studio on a daily basis with no contact at all with the audience.
“The digitalization and the online switch of all the processes in the fair, including the publishers’ reservations of booths, to the audiences’ reservations, is a completely positive turn for the Cairo International Book Fair,” added Bayoumy.
“Thankfully, we did not face any issues or difficulties while managing the website, teamwork enables us to easily handle any problems through continuously observing the fair and solve any mishaps on the spot,” stated Bayoumy.
Through the platform, tickets are available for reservation and each register receives their ticket’s QR Code via email and WhatsApp. Upon arriving at the gates, their QR Codes are scanned and they are free to enter.
Publishers and book authors’ names are listed on the gates and they are free to enter as well.
The website offers a 3D live experience and virtual tour of the actual book fair, where one could walk through the halls, look at all the bookshelves, select books and read about them.
The books are made available through the Egyptian Knowledge Bank, and if one would like to make a purchase online, they could easily contact the book’s publishing house and arrange for it to be delivered to their doorstep.
As for the elderly and ones with special needs, the book fair provides special tracks for them, as well as special entries at the gates.