Egypt's ambassador to Germany Bader Abdelaty, on Saturday evening, held two separate meetings with heads and senior representatives of travel agencies and airliners that deal with the Egyptian tourist destination, as well as representatives of German newspapers and magazines specialized in travel and tourism affairs.
During the meetings, Abdelaty called on the travel agencies to benefit from the recent German decision that paves the way for the return of the full flow of German tourists to Sharm el-Sheikh and other tourist resorts in South Sinai, a statement from the embassy said.
The decision allows the German airliners to conduct direct flights to the airports of South Sinai, particularly the Sharm el-Sheikh airport and the St. Catherine airport, Abdelaty said.
The Federal Ministry of Transport in Germany issued an announcement last week exempting German airliners from the notice not to fly below 26,000 feet when passing over the north of the Sinai Peninsula.
This is considered a first for aviation services to Egypt since the downing of the Russian passenger jet over Sinai in 2015.
Abdelaty said, during the two meetings, that the measures to secure flights, airports and tourist destinations in Egypt have witnessed important positive improvements.
The Egyptian government is commitment to providing the maximum degree of security for German and other foreign tourists visiting Egypt, in order to contribute a higher German tourist flow to the country, he added.
Abdelaty highlighted the competitiveness of Egypt as a destination after the flotation of the Egyptian pound exchange rate.
In total, Egypt received 655,000 German tourists during the period ranging from January to December 2016, the embassy statement read.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
