By Akram Medhat
Minister of Tourism Dr. Rania Al-Mashat held a panel discussion with major tour operators from around the world on the sidelines of the first day of ITB Berlin, among them FTI, Studiosus, LMX, Phoenix Reisen, Schauinsland Reisen, DER Touristik and ETI.
She praised the tour operators' efforts in the past period to increase inbound tourism to Egypt, pointing to the improvement in inbound tourism rates to Egypt during 2018 and the beginning of 2019.
She said that according to FVW, the most important specialized tourism magazine in Germany, Egypt has been the top tourist destination for the German market over the past five years, with an increase of 95%, noting the tour operators' efforts in contributing to this increase.
She referred to the ministry's efforts over the past year to resolve the problems facing tour operators and remove obstacles for them, to encourage them to bring more inbound tourism to Egypt, adding that most of the dues under the previous flight incentive program have been paid. She also pointed to the positive results of the new program, which has had a major impact on increasing inbound tourism rates to Egypt.
She stressed the importance of making use of the new flight program to drive more traffic to the governorates where tourism has been affected recently, explaining that the program offers additional incentives for achieving sustainable growth once every six months, divided into progressive tiers on the incentivized flights.
Regarding joint promotional campaigns, Al-Mashat explained that the ministry is reviewing the working system, regulations and criteria for these campaigns to make them more impactful and effective in promoting Egypt, and consistent with the pillars of the new campaign, including promoting the Grand Egyptian Museum, "GEM 2020", which will open in the first quarter of next year, and promoting each tourist city separately (Branding by Destination). She also discussed their proposals on joint promotional campaigns.
For their part, the tour operators praised the development of the Egyptian tourism sector under the structural reform program being implemented by the Ministry of Tourism in cooperation with the private sector, and expressed their hope for cooperation in the coming period amid growing demand from their customers to visit Egypt.
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