Fathy expects inbound tourism to grow by 5% to 7% by the end of this year
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy met representatives of Agence France-Presse (AFP) and a number of newspapers and magazines specializing in tourism and travel during his official visit to the French capital Paris. He reviewed the latest developments in Egypt's tourism sector and the indicators of inbound tourism to Egypt from various source markets, which grew by 4% from the start of this year to the first week of June, noting that he expects this growth to continue, reaching an increase of between 5% and 7% by the end of the year compared with last year. He also pointed to the growth of inbound tourism from the French market by 22% from January until now compared with the same period last year.
He explained that although rising fuel prices are one of the main challenges facing the tourism industry, leading some airlines to cut the number of flights and operating hours to save fuel, they have begun to gradually restore their operating capacity. He noted that the Egyptian state has implemented a number of incentive measures for these airlines, reviewing the proactive measures the ministry has taken to maintain tourist traffic, including launching additional incentives to support continued operations.
He also spoke about the Egyptian state's efforts to develop infrastructure, including the road network and transport such as railways and airports, as well as creating an attractive climate for investment, especially tourism investment and particularly in the hotel sector to increase the number of hotel rooms, helping to accommodate the expected tourist flows in the coming period, especially as the state aims to reach 30 million tourists by 2030.
He added that, as part of this, the ministry is diversifying accommodation types, including introducing "holiday apartments" and approving the rules governing them, ensuring compliance with quality, safety and occupational health standards.
Fathy also discussed the project to develop services in the Giza Pyramids area and its surroundings, with a general strategic plan now being drawn up to develop the area stretching from Sphinx International Airport to Dahshur. This includes the Giza Pyramids area and the area around the Grand Egyptian Museum, with new hotels, tourist resorts and entertainment and cultural projects that will turn the area into one of the world's most important destinations in the coming years. He outlined the state's target of providing 20,000 to 25,000 hotel rooms in this area by 2030.
In a related context, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy held a series of meetings with a number of leading French tour operators and officials of French tourism companies and airlines, including Der Tour, Club Med, Air Masters and Travel Evasion, to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation and increase inbound tourism from the French market to Egypt.
He said it was agreed to strengthen cooperation in the coming period between the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority and major French tourism companies and tour operators, to launch more effective joint promotional campaigns aimed at achieving higher growth in inbound tourism from the French market, noting that the implementation of the agreed plans and recommendations will be followed up through regular meetings, with the next meeting to be held on the sidelines of the IFTM Top Resa international tourism exhibition.
