(AFP File Photo)
The Ministry of Tourism set the cost for companies and hotels participating in the next three tourist exhibitions, which will be held outside Egypt until April 2016, at €2,500, according to a statement by the Egyptian Travel Agents Association (ETAA).
The three exhibitions include a leisure exhibition which will be held from 16 to 18 December in Moscow, IBTM World Barcelona that will be held from 17 to 19 November, and IMEX Frankfurt that will be held in April 2016.
The private sector’s participation in the promotions for tourist areas with ETAA is of great importance, according to ETAA Head Elhamy El-Zayat, who added that the private sector has great flexibility in marketing and attracting new segments to visit Egypt.
Europe represents 72% of the tourist flow to Egypt, according to El-Zayat, and Russia and Germany are major markets for beach tourism, while Barcelona is important for cultural tourism in Upper Egypt (Luxor and Aswan).
The number of the Russian visitors last year amounted to 3.1 million, achieving $2.5bn, according to the head of the sub-accounts unit at the Ministry of Tourism, Adela Ragab.
The number of the German tourists approached one million, according to El-Zayat, who added that German tourism is an important market for Egypt. He explains that German tourists are characterised by their high expenditure and annual visit frequency rates.
Minister of Tourism Khaled Ramy previously stated that the next period will witness integration of promotional programmes between the ministry and the private sector, which is set to increase the number of tourists to 12.5 million by the end of the year.
The number of tourists last year amounted to 9.9 million, achieving $7.3bn, according to the Ministry of Tourism.
In spite of the growth in the number of tourists coming from Russia and Germany to Egypt last year, El-Zayat believes that Egypt has not yet fulfilled the capacities of its beaches, antiquities and other tourism sites.
