Atef Abdel Latif, member of the Marsa Alam and South Sinai investors associations, has called on President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to give instructions to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and other Egyptian banks so they can work on a plan to boost tourism development.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Abdel Latif said the plan should include expanding the loans given by banks to tourism projects and reducing the value of interests, given that tourism is no longer what it was before January 2011.
He added that it is unreasonable for banks to have almost LE600 billion in their credit portfolios without investing in the tourism sector, which has been suffering for four years. He mentioned that banks are not supporting the national economy as they should.
Abdel Atif also indicated other financing problems in the tourism sector, such as stalled tourism projects, other projects that are still under construction due to a lack of funding, while others fall into disrepair due to an absence of funding for maintenance.
The association member called for forming a governmental committee representing the Tourism Ministry, CBE and Egypt Tourism Federation to tackle sector issues, as well as methods to finance these projects.
The tourism sector, which has approximately 20 million workers, represents 13 percent of Egypt’s national income through revenues of US$14.5 billion annually, he said.
