Sherif Fathy, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, met Albin Loidl, President of the German Travel Association (DRV), Volker Adams, the association's head of public policy and tourism destinations, and a delegation of 10 CEOs of the most prominent tour operators in the German market, including Bentour Reisen, Sancarbarlaz Tours, Erlebe Reisen, nüma, Biblische Reisen, Ferien Touristik Coral Travel and Der Tour, at the Giza Pyramids area, in the presence of Dr. Ahmed Youssef, CEO of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority, and Ashraf Mohie El-Din, Director General of Giza Antiquities.
During the meeting, a number of topics of mutual interest were discussed, including the current developments in the region and their impact on global tourism, as well as the challenges linked to rising fuel costs, especially jet fuel.
Indicators of tourism movement worldwide in general were also reviewed, particularly arrivals to Egypt, which reflect a positive performance for the Egyptian tourist destination. The meeting comes as part of the fam trip organized for them by the Authority in cooperation with the German association DRV to Egypt, which runs until 27 April.
The Minister of Tourism spoke about the ministry's strategy, which is based on maximizing the benefit of the unique diversity the Egyptian destination enjoys in terms of tourism products and types unmatched anywhere in the world, by showcasing and developing the various tourism types and products, as well as opening new horizons for new tourism experiences and destinations, including the North Coast, helping attract diverse segments of tourists from various markets.
He also pointed to a number of tourism programs and products that the ministry is working to promote, including the Holy Family route in Egypt and MICE tourism, among others, in addition to ongoing preparations for the opening of the Aton Museum in Minya Governorate, which is expected to help attract more tourism to Upper Egypt.
For their part, the DRV president and the accompanying delegation praised the major development of Egypt's infrastructure over the past years and its positive impact on tourism in Egypt and on improving tourists' experiences. They also expressed their admiration for the Grand Egyptian Museum, which represents an outstanding qualitative addition to the Egyptian tourist destination and enhances its global competitiveness.
The fam trip program for the DRV president and the CEOs of the most prominent tour operators in the German market includes visits to a number of tourist and archaeological sites in a group of Egyptian tourist cities, namely Cairo, Alexandria and the North Coast, with the aim of highlighting the diversity of tourism types and products offered by the Egyptian destination, in line with the ministry's strategy based on showcasing this globally unrivaled diversity.
The visit also aims to promote a number of new and non-traditional destinations for German tourists and to work on including them in the tourism programs marketed by tour operators in the German market, helping attract more tourist arrivals from this important market. The visit is also an opportunity to learn about the latest developments in the Egyptian tourist destination in recent times.
