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Zaazou: This project confirms investors' confidence in Egypt's stability... and sends a positive message worldwide
The five-star Nile cruise ship "Blue Shadow", with a capacity of 60 cabins, joined the fleet of floating hotels between Luxor and Aswan yesterday evening, Wednesday.
Minister of Tourism Hisham Zaazou opened the floating hotel, the first cruise ship to be inaugurated since the January 25, 2011 revolution. It sails between Luxor and Aswan, and its program includes visits to the various tourist and archaeological sites in these cities. It meets all the requirements that make it a distinguished five-star ship, in addition to meeting green environmental standards.
During the opening, the Minister of Tourism expressed his admiration for the ship's high standard, noting that it will be a major and distinguished addition to the Nile tourism product and will support the cultural tourism product, especially in Luxor and Aswan. He expressed his full confidence in Egypt's ability to restore tourist traffic for this product in the near future.
Zaazou pointed out that cultural tourism is the origin of tourism in Egypt and must return once again with the value befitting its importance, noting that the ministry places this product at the top of its priorities, whether through its incentive packages or its promotion, particularly in Luxor and Aswan, which are among the tourist areas hardest hit over the past four years.
The minister also expressed optimism about the project because its owner is an Egyptian investor who had the boldness to decide to complete his project despite the circumstances the country was going through in the previous period, which sends a reassuring message to the world and to investors of confidence in the future and in the stability of the situation in Egypt.
The Minister of Tourism stressed that the ministry is cooperating with all parties to overcome all the obstacles facing floating hotels, while taking great care over service quality and the availability of security and safety measures.
