The Supreme Council of Antiquities signed a bilateral cooperation protocol with EgyptAir Duty Free, between the Ministries of Antiquities and Civil Aviation, to display and sell the replicas produced by the ministry's Archaeological Replicas Unit at duty-free outlets in the country's airports.
For his part, Dr. Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, explained that the protocol includes setting up an outlet for selling archaeological replicas at EgyptAir Duty Free locations in a number of airports, including Cairo International Airport, Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada. The outlets will feature a collection of replicas from different historical eras, reflecting the richness of Egypt's history and its successive civilisations and presenting them concisely to visitors. They will also be a source of increased revenue for the ministry and will encourage travellers to visit archaeological sites for more knowledge and understanding of this unique civilisation.
He noted that this cooperation came after the approval of the board of directors, as part of the Ministry of Antiquities' keenness to showcase Egyptian civilisation to visitors from all over the world and to attract and boost tourism.
In a related context, Reda Metwally, chairman of EgyptAir Duty Free, said this protocol will give tourists a small glimpse of Egypt's ancient history, as Egyptian airports are the gateways for visitors arriving in Egypt, through which they see the greatness of its antiquities, via the duty-free company's various outlets across the country.
He added that the possibility of developing the display and sale of replicas on board the company's aircraft will be studied later, as well as how to use technological features, especially on the aircraft newly added to the fleet, to serve this purpose.
Dr. Amr El-Tayebi, executive director of the Archaeological Replicas Unit at the Ministry of Antiquities, stressed that the replicas produced by the unit are certified by the ministry, of high quality and reasonably priced, noting that the most important replicas to be displayed and sold at the duty-free outlets are the King Tutankhamun collection, as he is the most famous pharaoh, and others such as the Egyptian Scribe, a collection of jewellery and Islamic ceramics, and Coptic statues, paintings and icons.
On the sidelines of the signing ceremony, Captain Ahmed Adel, chairman of EgyptAir Holding Company, praised the protocol, which is a first step toward anticipated cooperation with the Ministry of Antiquities, stressing that EgyptAir's role will also include any opportunities it can offer to encourage Egyptian tourism by providing the necessary facilities through its offices abroad in the case of artefact tours or the export of replicas, in addition to EgyptAir being the first to display and sell replicas produced by the Ministry of Antiquities' factory.
On another note, Dr. Mostafa Waziri said the Ministry of Antiquities is expected to finish building its own replicas factory next October, the largest and most important factory in the region, given the models of the most sought-after pieces globally and locally that it will offer the market, especially amid declining demand for Chinese products. The factory will offer its output at duty-free outlets in two types, the first a handmade artistic product and the second machine-made, so that all segments of the public can buy replicas.
