The Minister of Tourism and Antiquities discusses the economic tourism situation of Egypt at the Business and Financial Conference

Today, Ahmed Issa, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, participated in the opening of the eighth CEOs Thoughts 2022 conference on the second day, organized by “Al Mal GTM” on December 4 and 5 under the name “The Year of Great Challenges”, in which the Group of Ministers, Businessmen will participate , money, officials, bankers and economists.

Hazem Sherif, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company “Al Mal GTM” started the session by welcoming the minister, talking about the importance of the tourism sector in Egypt for the national economy and its impact on the macro economy and the financial sector, and that based on this there is a great importance of observing the tourism sector as one of of the most important sectors. Economically, pointing out the economic background of the minister, and wishing him success and that the tourism sector in Egypt achieves its goals and desired growth rates.

Ahmed Issa began his speech during the session by reviewing the work plan of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, and the most prominent axes of the national strategy for the development of tourism in Egypt and incentives for more inbound tourism to Egypt with growth rates ranging between 25% and 30%.

And he said that these axes were identified based on what was studied during the last period, especially in terms of the determinants that affect the supply side and face the tourism industry in Egypt, explaining that these axes include working to provide greater access to the Egyptian tourist destination and double the aircraft capacity in cooperation with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, improving the investment climate and encouraging investment in tourism to increase hotel capacity and tourist transport fleets, while working to improve the experience of tourists in Egyptian tourist destinations and raise the quality of services provided there.

The Minister pointed out that work is being done on all axes of the strategy through the creation of various implementation plans that will be agreed upon and implemented in coordination with other competent ministries, agencies and institutions.

Regarding the demand for visiting the Egyptian tourist destination, the minister referred to the results of one of the marketing studies that were carried out in the previous period, explaining that it was proven that there is a large number of potential tourists in the world that Egypt could attract, and he defined potential tourists as those who they know the Egyptian tourist destination and want to travel to it, and if they visit it, it is expected that their level of satisfaction with the tourist experience will be good, and it is also expected that they will recommend visiting the Egyptian tourist destination to their relatives and friends.

He explained that the study divided these tourists into several segments, and at the top are cultural tourism, beach and recreational tourism, family tourism, adventure tourism and tourists who are looking for a complete and multiple tourist experience and tourist patterns, pointing out that the countries of these tourists have been identified and set as target tourist markets.

Ahmed Issa also highlighted the role of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities as a watchdog, organizer, motivator and initiator of the private sector, stressing the readiness of the ministry to cooperate more with all civil work institutions that represent the private sector, including the Egyptian Federation of Tourism Chambers and the respective tourism chambers, to improve tourism industry in Egypt and develop public policies that serve the sector. This contributes to achieving its goals and increasing incoming tourism to Egypt.

In his speech, the minister referred to his recent participation in the London International Tourism Exchange (WTM), noting that the participation of the private tourism sector was important and successful.

Ahmed Issa spoke about public spending programs in the ministry, where one of the most important aspects of spending is to launch various promotional and advertising campaigns to attract more incoming tourists and emphasize the competitiveness of the sector, explaining that the ministry aims to double public spending on promotional activities for Egypt’s tourist destination, as well as spending on the development of archaeological sites and museums in Egypt, which contribute to providing an outstanding tourist experience for Egyptians and tourists, emphasizing the importance of realistic planning for the future, taking into account current circumstances.

Asked during the session about ways to encourage investment in Egypt, especially in the field of tourism, the minister indicated that in Egypt there is an integrated system for encouraging and creating a better climate for investment in Egypt in general, and that the Ministry is part of this system, since in cooperation with the state institutions in tourism is working to attract more investments, especially in hotels and tourist fleets.

The minister highlighted the importance of working to increase investment in hotels in some of Egypt’s tourist destinations and regions, including Luxor, Aswan and the North Coast, based on the supply and demand equation for those destinations.

Ahmed Issa concluded his speech by expressing the desire to continue further cooperation with all business partners related to the tourism industry in Egypt, especially with the private tourism sector, in order to achieve what we aim to develop and develop this industry and achieve high growth rates in it, in line with Egypt’s position among the largest tourist countries.