Tourism Minister Yehia Rashed called on the Tourism Activation Authority to be prepared to take part in the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) exhibition in Dubai. The minster and ministry officials are to take part in the exhibition, according to an official at the ministry.
The source said that the ministry will display and offer investment opportunities in the Red Sea region for tourism investment firms in the Arabian Gulf states.
He expects that the officials will finalise a memorandum at the exhibition which will include five investment opportunities, with plots of land ranging from 5m-10m sqm, to be completed in February.
The source mentioned that the timing of the ATM exhibition is good for Arab tourism marketing before the start of the summer holiday in the Gulf—especially in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.
The official expected many tourist programmes to be launched for Arabs during the coming summer.
“The Tourism Activation Authority notified the Chamber of Tourism Companies and Travel Agencies to alert their members of the importance of participating in the exhibition, and that participation costs €1,350,” the official said.
The Ministry of Tourism is seeking to increase the Arab tourism influx in 2017 to 1.5 million tourists, and to increase that number to 2 million in 2018.
He added that Arab tourism is considered one of the most important markets exporting tourism traffic to Egypt in terms of spending rates, compared to any other nationality.
The Arab tourists’ spending rate ranges between $80-120 per night compared to the European tourists’ spending rate which ranges from $50-70. Arab tourists on average spend 12-15 days in Egypt per visit, and visit Egypt frequently.
