Tourism Minister briefs the President on the latest developments in tourism investment and the development of hotel establishments
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met today with Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly and Sherif Fathy, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, and was briefed during the meeting on the executive and logistical details and the arrangements for the various events marking the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, scheduled for November 1, including the work completed within the project.
Ambassador Mohamed El-Shennawy, the official spokesman for the Presidency, stated that President El-Sisi was also briefed on the ongoing development of the area surrounding the museum. In this context, the President stressed the importance of closely following up on all details on the ground to ensure that the museum's opening befits its status as a world-class cultural and archaeological landmark, as well as continuing work to improve the visual image of the surrounding area.
Ambassador Mohamed El-Shennawy added that the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities reviewed during the meeting the latest developments in tourism investment, as part of the state's keenness to attract more investment to this vital sector. The minister stressed that preliminary indicators reflect steady growth in demand for the Egyptian tourist destination from various global markets, amid continued efforts to develop the tourism product, expand into new types of tourism, intensify promotional campaigns and improve the quality of services.
In this regard, President El-Sisi stressed the need for the private sector to play a pivotal role in tourism investment, helping to increase the number of tourists arriving in Egypt, develop tourism infrastructure and diversify destinations, in addition to drawing up a marketing plan targeting new markets, working to maximize dollar revenues from the tourism sector and governing the system in a way that ensures its sustainability.
The official spokesman also explained that the meeting discussed ways to advance the tourism sector and develop hotel establishments to accommodate larger numbers of tourists, with the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities noting that the sector is currently witnessing its highest growth rates and is among the sectors that attract the most hard currency.
In the same context, the minister reviewed a number of measures taken recently to stimulate the sector, particularly those related to facilitating the procedures for converting land and buildings to hotel use, as well as increasing the number of holiday apartments, helping to increase hotel room capacity.
At the end of the meeting, the President followed up on ways to strengthen cooperation with UNESCO in protecting and preserving cultural heritage and archaeological sites, and also followed up on efforts to restore, develop and upgrade the services provided to visitors at museums and archaeological sites, helping to improve the tourism experience while preserving the civilizational heritage. He stressed the importance of applying the principles of sustainable development in managing archaeological sites inscribed on the World Heritage List and exploring mechanisms of cooperation with UNESCO to develop an integrated future vision for preserving these sites, according to the official Facebook page of the Presidency's spokesman.
