Al-Mashat Meets Luxor Tourism Investors to Discuss Proposals to Boost Cultural Tourism

By Akram Medhat

During her visit to Luxor Governorate today, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Tourism, met with investors and owners of hotels, companies and tourist establishments in the governorate, following the success of the tourist season there, to discuss the state of tourism in the governorate and set an action plan for the coming period to overcome the obstacles facing the sector.

The meeting was attended by Counselor Mostafa Elham, Governor of Luxor, with the participation of Ahmed El-Wassif, head of the Egyptian Tourism Federation, Hossam El-Shaer, head of the Chamber of Tourism Companies, Magued Fawzy, head of the Chamber of Hotel Establishments, a number of members of parliament for Luxor Governorate, Magdy Shalaby, head of the Tourism Companies Sector at the Ministry of Tourism, and Eng. Yasser Farouk, General Director of Projects at the Tourism Development Authority.

Al-Mashat stressed that the ministry pays special attention to cultural tourism, as Egypt is distinguished by this product from all other tourist countries, noting the continuous cooperation with the Ministry of Antiquities and the importance of new archaeological discoveries that renew the passion for Egypt and whet tourists' appetite to rediscover its treasures.

She pointed to the attention paid to promoting cultural tourism at international fairs, especially the Grand Egyptian Museum, through films shot about Egyptian antiquities to be shown at those fairs, and explained that with the launch of the new promotional campaign, each tourist governorate will be promoted separately, Branding by Destination.

During the meeting, the Minister of Tourism listened to the demands of investors and owners of hotels and companies, their proposals and the problems they face. They praised the ministry's efforts in the past period on many files, such as property taxes, and praised the passing of the winter closure period this year without any navigational obstacles hindering floating hotels between Aswan and Luxor, as well as the boom the tourism sector is witnessing amid the ministry's cooperation with the private sector.

Owners of companies and hotels in Luxor presented some proposals to develop the tourism sector in the governorate and boost inbound tourism to it, including the Ministry of Tourism allocating a stand to Luxor Governorate at international tourism fairs, building the third Al-Kabbash bridge, opening the desert road (Luxor-Aswan) to tourist groups, doubling the (Luxor-Abu Simbel) road and increasing the number of tourist buses in Luxor. They pointed to the shortage of trained workers in the sector and called for increasing charter flights to Luxor and the need to develop the tourist marina and raise its efficiency.

For her part, the minister spoke about the structural reform program launched by the ministry last November to develop the tourism sector, which includes several pillars, including raising the efficiency of tourist and hotel establishments and raising the efficiency of the human element, through a plan to train all workers in the tourism sector in the various governorates, including Luxor, which was set in cooperation with the federation and the chambers after studying the needs of the various governorates.

Regarding the tourist marina, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat said the Ministry of Tourism has a project to develop the tourist marina in Luxor in cooperation with the governorate, that an amount of money has been allocated to it from the Tourism Fund, and that work is under way to complete the related procedures.

Al-Mashat reviewed the new aviation incentive program launched by the ministry in cooperation with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, in effect from last November 1 until April 30, 2020, noting that the program is based on a number of criteria, including favoring governorates whose inbound tourism rates have been affected recently, including Luxor, to push more traffic to them, which will have the greatest impact in maximizing price competitiveness to increase inbound tourist traffic to Egypt. She explained that the program has begun to bear fruit in attracting tourists and opening new markets, and pointed to the opening of Sphinx Airport, which will help operate more charter flights to tourist governorates.

The minister concluded the meeting by stressing the importance of holding these meetings in the governorates periodically to follow up on action plans to advance the tourism sector.

On the sidelines of the visit, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat made an inspection tour of Luxor Temple, accompanied by Counselor Mostafa Elham, Governor of Luxor, during which she met a group of tourists of various nationalities from Germany, England and China who were at the temple. They made sure to take some souvenir photos with the minister and expressed their happiness at visiting Egypt and being in Luxor, and their admiration for ancient Egyptian civilization and the unparalleled antiquities and treasures they saw.