Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi instructed the Italian Ministry of Tourism and tourism magazines to create advertising campaigns promoting travel to Egypt, said an Egyptian diplomat in Rome.
Egyptian Tourism Minister Mounir Fakhri Abdel Nour as well as Prime Minister Essam Sharaf visited Italy last week and Sharaf attended celebrations of Italy's National Day on 2 June.
The director of Egypt’s Tourism Office in Italy, Mohamed Abdel Gabbar, said that Berlusconi issued strict orders to the Italian Minister of Tourism to take interest in promoting tourism to the country.
He noted that there are 3000 Italian tourism companies in Egypt.
Abdel Gabbar added in statements to Al-Masry Al-Youm that these companies will be exposed to bankruptcy in case tourism in Egypt does not recover soon. He pointed out that Berlusconi has personal interests in Egypt as well.
He said the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism sponsored large audio and visual media advertising campaigns in metro stations, on public transport and in airports.
The deputy editor of Corriere della Sera, an Italian daily newspaper, said that advertising campaigns are not enough to restore tourism to pre-revolution levels. He said the security situation must return to normal, as insecurity is a major impediment to tourism.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
