Minister of Tourism Dr. Rania Al-Mashat is in the Japanese city of Osaka to take part in JATA Tourism Expo Japan 2019, held this month from October 24 to 27 under the theme "Promoting Sustainable Tourism Development... A Vital Action Towards Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals." The exhibition is considered one of the largest tourism exhibitions in the world and is organized in cooperation with the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
Dr. Rania Al-Mashat opens the Egyptian pavilion at the exhibition today, accompanied by a delegation from the ministry and the Tourism Promotion Authority, with Minister Plenipotentiary Hatem El-Nashar, deputy head of the diplomatic mission, attending the opening. As part of the exhibition's events, she will also take part as a keynote speaker in the third session of the Ministerial Round Table, to be held under the title "Community Vitalization: People and Culture," with the participation of a select group of the most important tourism leaders worldwide, in response to an invitation she received from the Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization and the President of the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA).
The Minister of Tourism said the exhibition will provide an opportunity to meet the most important Japanese tour operators and hear their proposals to support ways of cooperating with them in the coming period, in order to increase the volume of their business in Egypt and boost inbound traffic from the Japanese market.
The minister is scheduled to hold several meetings with Japanese officials concerned with the tourism sector, including the President of the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA).
This is the Ministry of Tourism's first participation in an international exhibition since the British government's decision last Tuesday to lift restrictions on flights to Sharm El-Sheikh Airport.
It is worth noting that Japanese tourist arrivals in Egypt reached 42,000 during 2018, up 28% compared with 2017, spending 276,000 tourist nights, an increase of 29%.
