Officials at Disney deny plans to create a new theme park in Egypt, according to an email correspondence with MadaMasr.
“At Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, we continually look for ways to grow our business and as part of that process, we have conversations with many different entities. While Egypt is an attractive market, we have no plans for the region at this time,” said the Disney official who spoke with MadaMasr.
State-run news agency MENA reported during the launch of the Disneyland show on Tuesday that Disney was considering launching a new amusement park in Egypt, quoting the Minister of Investments Ashraf Salman, who said that there are negotiations between Disney International to open a theme park in the Middle East, similar to the other one in France.
The announcement came as the Cairo International Convention Center is currently hosting a five-day live Disneyland show kicked off in Egypt casting famous Disney characters in a magic-themed performance.
Salman said that hosting a live Disney show in Egypt during this time would confirm to the world that Egypt is safe and can attract domestic, foreign and tourist investments, all the while restoring confidence in the Egyptian economy.
During the preparation for the big event, the minister of tourism Hesham Zazou pointed to the importance of tourism in hosting those important events especially as Disney is one of the most popular entertainment events worldwide which promotes tourism as well as improves the tourism outook in Egypt.
A few days ago Disney unveiled its launch for the newest theme parks in the world in the Chinese city of Shanghai. The park is under construction and expected to open by the end of 2015.
