TUI targets 600,000 tourists to Egypt by the end of 2025
The Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority hosted a delegation of German travel agents and media representatives on a familiarization trip to Sharm El-Sheikh, in cooperation with German tour operator TUI. The visit is part of the ministry's efforts to boost inbound tourism from the German market and strengthen the Egyptian destination's presence on the global tourism map.
The delegation included Benjamin Jacobi, CEO of German tour operator TUI, 17 travel agents from major travel companies and agencies in the German market, and 8 representatives of the most important trade and consumer newspapers and magazines in Germany, with the aim of seeing the developments taking place in Sharm El-Sheikh and learning about its tourism assets and diverse programs, supporting sales for the upcoming winter season.
Hosting this trip comes in line with the directives of Sherif Fathy, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, to intensify communication with tour operators and travel companies in source and target markets, and to organize familiarization trips for them to introduce them to the unique tourism and archaeological assets offered by the Egyptian destination, helping to increase tourist flows in the coming periods.
For his part, Eng. Ahmed Youssef, CEO of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority, explained that familiarization trips are among the most important tools of tourism promotion, as they offer opportunities to build trust among tour operators and to see Egyptian destinations and their competitive advantages first-hand. He noted that hosting this delegation is part of the ministry's strategy to diversify promotion mechanisms and ensure reaching different segments of the target audience, as well as continuing efforts to boost the flow of German tourism to Egypt.
During the visit, Eng. Ahmed Youssef held a meeting with Benjamin Jacobi, attended by Amr Karim, General Manager of Travco, where they discussed opportunities for joint cooperation in promoting the Egyptian destination in the German market and reviewed the possibility of implementing joint promotional activities to showcase Egypt's diverse tourism products, including new tourism experiences such as the one offered by the Grand Egyptian Museum, as well as the urban development taking place in tourist cities and coastal areas such as New Alamein City and the North Coast.
The meeting also discussed the volume of tourism demand for the Egyptian destination and ways to boost flows in the coming period, in addition to agreeing to operate two weekly flights from Frankfurt and Dusseldorf airports to Sharm El-Sheikh Airport, after a suspension resulting from recent regional developments.
In the same context, Mohamed Farag, financial and administrative supervisor of the tourist office in Berlin and its affiliated supervised countries, stated that TUI is one of the most prominent companies supporting the Egyptian destination, as the number of tourists it brought to Egypt exceeded 400,000 in 2023 and rose to nearly 500,000 in 2024, with a target of reaching 600,000 tourists by the end of 2025. He also affirmed continued communication with German tour operators to provide them with the latest sector updates and implement joint promotional campaigns to boost tourism traffic to Egypt.
The delegation's familiarization trip program included a number of distinctive tourism experiences, including a sea trip and diving in the depths of the Red Sea, and a safari trip in the Sinai desert, in addition to other activities reflecting the diversity and distinctiveness of the tourism product in Sharm El-Sheikh.
On the sidelines of the visit, Eng. Ahmed Youssef met with the CEO of Rixos Hotels and the CEO of Accor Hotels, where they discussed ways of cooperation to maximize the benefit from familiarization and professional trips and to implement joint campaigns in key and target markets.
