By Akram Medhat
Tamer Nabil, board member of the Chamber of Hotel Establishments and secretary general of the Red Sea Investors Association, said the opening of a direct flight route between the Serbian capital, Belgrade, and Cairo has been announced, with the first flight set for June 4, after a 13-year halt.
The announcement came on the sidelines of Egypt's participation in the Serbian tourism fair "Beogradski sajam", held from 21 to 24 February this month in Belgrade. The Egyptian pavilion at the fair covered 200 square meters. The fair was opened by the Serbian Minister of Tourism and the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament, who made a point of visiting the Egyptian pavilion.
Nabil added that the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament hosted a dinner in honor of the arrival of the delegation of Egyptian tourism businessmen, headed by Red Sea Governor Maj. Gen. Ahmed Abdullah, and attended by the Serbian ministers of foreign affairs, energy and mining.
Nabil said that Egyptian Minister of Tourism Dr. Rania Al-Mashat is scheduled to hold a meeting today with Serbian tourism companies, followed by an extended press conference, and that an Egyptian night will be held at a Serbian hotel, attended by various Serbian media outlets and Serbian tourism companies.
Separately, the Egyptian Ambassador in Belgrade, Amr Aljowaily, received the Egyptian delegation taking part in the fair at the Egyptian Embassy to discuss the future plan to increase tourism from Serbia to Egypt.
According to tourism statistics, Serbian tourist arrivals in Egypt reached about 39,000 in 2018, up 113% from 2017, which recorded 18,000 Serbian tourists.
