Delegation of Chinese tour operators visits Cairo

Delegation of Chinese tour operators visits Cairo

CAIRO: A Chinese delegation of 400 tour operators and media figures arrived in Cairo to inspect tourist attractions and potentials in Egypt’s unchartered travel destination, head of the international tourism sector at the Tourism Promotion Authority Ahmed Shoukry told The Cairo Post Wednesday.

Shoukry said the visit “would pave the way to boost the number of Chinese tourists to Egypt, which has sharply decreased since the January 25 Revolution and the consequent security lapses.”

An estimated 122,000 Chinese tourists visited Egypt in 2010 while the number dropped to 42,000 in 2011 and 38,000 in 2012, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), Egypt’s official statistical agency.

During a 4-day visit to China in December, President Sisi and the Egyptian Minister of Trade Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour met with Chinese tourism officials and discussed ways to increase number of Chinese tourists visiting Egypt, according to Youm7.

During the meeting with Sisi, Chinese Minister of Tourism Li Jinzao said that his country is looking forward to strengthen tourist cooperation with Egypt and called on the Egyptian authorities to “increase the number of direct flights between Egypt and Chinese provinces and to develop new measures to facilitate obtaining an entry visa to Egypt.”

The Chinese delegation is scheduled to conduct inspection visits to Egypt’s touristic destinations of Luxor, Aswan, Abu Simbel and the Red Sea coastal cities, Shoukry said.