The Egyptian government is planning to establish “an international tourism company” in collaboration with the private sector and Arab investors, Tourism Minister Hesham Zaazou said on Monday.
The planned agency will be tasked with marketing Egypt’s tourism sector abroad, resolving aviation hurdles and buying a number of tourism agencies in Europe, said the minister during a press conference for tourism writers.
A government-run company with responsiblity for airport security and tourist zones will also begin operations within weeks, Zaazou revealed. He added that the company, to which the ministries of defense, interior, tourism and aviation contribute, has sent some several employees for training abroad.
“The next week will see a meeting between Central Bank of Egypt Governor Tarek Amer and foreign airlines operating in Egypt, to resolve the crisis that those companies have faced recently in trying to exchange US dollars,” said the minister.
He said that as part of government efforts to eliminate problems facing the tourism sector, a ministerial panel chaired by Prime Minister Sherif Ismail has been formed to address such issues.
Zaazou added that a “Supreme Council of Tourism” chaired by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will start operations soon, laying down “tourism industry strategies for the coming period.”
Statistics from the Tourism Ministry have shown that 25 hotels have closed down since the crash of a Russian passenger plane over Sinai on October 31, an incident that left 224 people dead. Eleven of the hotels are in South Sinai and 14 in Hurghada. The data reveals that occupancy rates at 70 other hotels remain at “zero”, although they remain open.
On Tuesday, Zaazou told attendees at a news conference that LE32 million had been allocated by the government for extra security measures focused on tourist safety.
Addressing 200 representatives of the tourism sectors in 25 countries, the minister said that the adopted measures will help “ upgrade safety levels at tourist resorts.”
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
