(AFP Photo)
General Ali Reda, the head of the Tourism Investors Association in the Red Sea, said that national banks have agreed to reschedule the debts of 32 hotels and resorts in the Red Sea governorate for 2013.
Reda added that 80% of the hotels’ accruals belong to the National Bank of Egypt, followed by Banque Misr, but declined to reveal the amount of money involved, saying it differs from one hotel to the other. He explained that the association is currently making a list of all the hotels currently under construction, hoping that it will be in service during 2014.
According to the Ministry of Tourism between 191,000 and 211,000 rooms are currently under construction, most of them are located in the Red Sea and Sinai governorates.
Tourism investment has suffered greatly during the past three years due to the decrease in air traffic to Egypt, which in turn affected the funds available for investment in new projects.
The Central Bank of Egypt decided to extend the deadline given to the tourism sector concerning payment of their debts to the banks. This was done by rescheduling the debts and giving them an extra six months until July 2014.
Hossam Al-Shaer, the head of Blue Sky for Tourism requested that the ministry provide an incentive package for investors during the coming period, which would include tax exemption or rescheduling the late insurance fees.
Translated from Al Borsa Newspaper.
