Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa discussed on Tuesday with Chinese officials plans to increase direct air flights between the two countries, amid plans to receive more tourists from China in coming years.
According to Issa, marketing studies conducted by the ministry proved that there are large numbers of Chinese tourists who wish to visit Egypt.
These remarks came during a professional workshop organised by the Egyptian tourism ministry under the title “Egyptian-Chinese Tourism”.
The workshop saw the participation of Chinese Minister of Culture and Tourism Hu Heping, who is heading an official delegation to Egypt to boost cooperation between Cairo and Beijing in the field of tourism.
A Chinese delegation comprising tourism organisers and representatives from the China Tourism Association, who are currently in Egypt to boost cooperation between the two countries, attended the workshop.
In a meeting on Sunday, Minister Issa emphasised to Heping that Egypt believes that China represents one of the most promising markets for tourism to the country.
In January, Egypt received its first batch of Chinese tourists after Beijing eased COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Last week, Egypt eased visa requirements for Chinese nationals, allowing them to obtain an entry visa upon arrival.
The Egyptian economy relies on the tourism sector as a key source of hard currency.
The country’s tourism sector was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the number of visitors dropping from 13.1 million in 2019 to 3.7 million in 2020.
However, the tourism sector began to recover in the last two years – with the number of tourists climbing up to 8 million in 2021 and, again, to 11.7 million in 2022.
The government has said it expects 15 million tourists to visit Egypt in 2023 and plans are in the work to expand hotel capacity to receive 25–30 million by 2028.
Source: Ahram Online
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