Five members of parliament have nominated themselves for the position of chairman of the committee of Tourism and Aviation in the House of Representatives, an official at the Egyptian Chamber of Hotels said.
The MPs who constitute the Tourism and Aviation committee will elect the chairman from among these candidates.
The official contended that Amr Sedky is the leading contender for the position, as he previously has held a position in the chamber of tourism and with several travel agencies.
The other candidates include Mohamed Al-Masoudi, the owner of a resort in Sharm El-Sheikh, Sahar Talaat Mustafa, Ibrahim Hamouda, and Mohammad Abdo, said the official.
While there are five candidates, the official contended that only the three candidates who have extensive experience in the tourism sector are qualified for the position: Mustafa, Al-Masoudi, and Sedky.
The parliament is expected to issue a uniform law to govern the tourism sector to attend to the an area of the Egyptian economy that has suffered markedly since the downing of Russian commercial jet in October.
Khalid El-Manawy, the chairman of the Chamber of Tourism Companies and Travel Agencies, said there are several laws currently governing the sector. The majority of these laws were issued in the 1970s and are not compatible with the developments in the sector over the past five years.
The official believes that the most important problems facing workers in the sector are the variation in competent authorities, which obstruct the sector’s growth.
“The work of more than one ministry intertwines with the Ministry of Tourism, and this affects tourism activity,” said the official.
Egyptian Tourism accounts for around 11% of Gross National Product (GNP).
Egypt collected $6.1bn in revenue from tourism in 2015, compared to $7.3bn in 2014.
