Rashed: Preparations Under Way to Sign a Cooperation Protocol to Boost Tourism Between Egypt and Italy

By Akram Medhat

On the sidelines of his visit to the Vatican for the approval of the Holy Family Trail, Minister of Tourism Yehia Rashed held a meeting with Dorina Bianchi, Italy's Deputy Minister of Culture in charge of tourism, and they agreed to sign a cooperation protocol aimed at increasing two-way tourism between Egypt and Italy, in the presence of Egyptian Ambassador Hesham Badr and Egyptian Tourism Counselor Emad Fathy.

For her part, the Italian Deputy Minister of Culture affirmed her country's readiness to cooperate with Egypt in tourism, as part of Italy's orientation toward cooperation with Mediterranean countries. She added that such government-level initiatives strengthen friendship and affection between peoples, pointing to the Italian people's love for Egypt and their desire to travel there because of its wealth of civilizational and cultural attractions and the diversity of its tourism product.

In a related context, Ambassador Hesham Badr said he would begin taking practical steps to prepare the memorandum of understanding and the signing of the cooperation protocol and present them to the Italian side.

It is worth noting that Italian tourist arrivals to Egypt recorded 165,000 tourists from January to August 2017, up 98% from the same period last year, and they spent 1.7 million tourist nights, an increase of 284%.