Za'zou - Tourism Expected to Improve As Several States Lift Travel Ban

Tourism Minister Hisham Za'zou

Tourism Minister Hisham Za'zou expects tourism to improve in November since several countries have already began lifting their travel ban to Egypt after security conditions have become better.

Addressing the opening session of a five-day conference of the Association of Travel Journalists (FIJET), he noted that the Russian ambassador in Cairo has told him that Russia decided to lift its travel ban on all parts of Egypt as of today, adding that several countries have already lifted their travel warnings against the Upper Egypt governorates of Luxor and Aswan.

Tourism suffered a sharp drop in September and October that reached 55 per cent due to negative incidents carried out by Brotherhood elements in streets, he said.

He added that dispersing Brotherhood sit-ins in Rabaa el-Adaweya and Nahda squares was an exigency and a public request because protesters attacked citizens and the strikes affected the Egyptian economy and traffic on streets.

He noted that the ministry has a short-term plan for activating tourism, noting that the ministry and the Egyptian Tourism Authority (ETA) cooperated with travel agents and manipulated the internet and social networking services to promote for Egyptian tourist hubs.

He added that the ministry will also launch in the coming period a campaign entitled "Thanks" to activate Arab tourism in Egypt. The campaign is meant to express appreciation to Gulf states which backed Egypt in such sensitive stage.

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FM Delays Rise On Visas to May 2014 to Boost Tourism

Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmi approved Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou's request to halt implementation of visa rise on tourists until May 2014.

Meantime, Zaazou thanked Fahmi for his decision to delay the implementation for the second time in row, adding that the decision would boost tourism.

The rise was planned to be implemented this month but was delayed to February and then to May 2014.

Zaazou said that delaying the raise would encourage local and foreign tourism companies to promote tourism in Egypt during the coming period.

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Luxor Still Tourists' Favorite in London Travel Market

Luxor Governor Tarek Saad el-Din stressed that Luxor is still a favorite destination as many representatives of travel agencies at the International Travel Market here refused to cancel their December reservations.

Speaking to MENA, Saad el-Din said the Upper Egyptian governorate is free of any protests and there is no reason why some countries continue to impose a travel ban that has badly harmed the workers in the tourism sector.

He said lifting the UK travel ban to Egypt will certainly play a key role in recovering the Egyptian tourism sector, especially in Luxor, stressing that many British travel operators are exercising pressure on the government to lift the ban.

As part of efforts to address fears on security in Luxor, the governor said 28-million-pound security surveillance cameras will be installed in all tourist areas in the governorate to convey a true picture of the security situation.

Also, he unveiled plans to launch a satellite channel covering Luxor tourism. The governor called for re-operating the train service to Luxor and linking airports of Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada and Marsa Alam with that of Luxor to help recover tourism.