Egypt sees 2.3% boost in Saudi tourist arrivals

 Wahashtona campaign

Egypt sees 2.3% boost in Saudi tourist arrivals

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and the Egyptian Tourism Authority have announced a comparative increase in the number tourists from Saudi Arabia in the month of June. About 34,426 tourists visited Egypt from the Kingdom in June 2013. This June saw 35,210 visitors from the Kingdom constituting a 2.3 percent increase. 

Much of the increase in tourist numbers from the Kingdom and from across the region has been attributed to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and the Egyptian Tourism Authority’s Wahashtona campaign. The campaign was created to boost tourism to Egypt from Arab markets and includes competitive packages and special offers targeting tourists from across the GCC. 

The increased tourism rates to Egypt’s touristic destinations include the South Sinai and Red Sea governorates that are home to Egypt’s top two destinations — Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada. Combined, both destinations accounted for 76 percent of tourists visiting the country in June 2014, with visitors attracted to their temperate climate, golden beaches, diving and sea sports, as well as leisure and recreation activities. 

This June also recorded increased tourism to other destinations, including Cairo, Aswan and Alexandria. Cairo saw 11 percent increase in visitors, while Aswan and Alexandria recorded 18 percent and 24 percent increases in inbound tourism respectively. 

Tourism numbers are expected to continue to increase as a result of Wahashtona’s competitive offers — which start from $400 (including airline ticket and three-night residency) — and the nation’s continued stability and security.

@http://www.arabnews.com/news/economy/614921

Tourism programme to trace Holy Family’s steps through Egypt

Tourism programme to trace Holy Family’s steps through Egypt

Egypt and it's tourism industry had been going through a tremendous hardship - some say it's about to be considered destroyed. Tourism officials are scrambling to think out of the box to relaunch this important economic pillow of the country. To capitalize on Egypt's rich religious heritage, the Minister of Tourism Hisham Zaazou will launch a touristic program following the steps of the Holy Family through Egypt in October.

According to the Christian Bible, the Virgin Mary and Jesus stayed in Egypt for 42 months, visiting 20 different places.

According to the Egyptian tourism ministry the program will allow people to follow the Holy Family’s journey.

Egypt’s has a distinctive religious identity as a place of refuge, at different points in history, sheltering Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

The journey will take around a week.

The items, included across Egypt, include churches in Old Cairo, Maadi, Wadi El Natrun, and Al- Minya

Pope Tawadros II said tourism is “indispensible” for the national economy, pointing out that Jesus Christ was the most significant visitor to Egypt. For a small fee, the pope has agreed to open monasteries to tourist groups on the condition that the priests living there would be notified about the date and time of visits beforehand.

Zaazou said the Tourism Development Authority will hold training sessions for priests in churches and monasteries as part of the program to prepare them for tourists. The ministry will coordinate with the Egyptian General Tourist Guide Syndicate to update the information and references related to the Christian shrines that the Holy Family visited.

There have been biblical tours in Egypt, including programms that follow the Moses’s route through the country, before, but Tadros said they weren’t well promoted. Some people don’t even know the Coptic History in Egypt, she said.

This initiative is to promote religion for tourism. It's supposed to benefit the country economically and culturally.

@http://www.eturbonews.com/48940/tourism-programme-trace-holy-family-s-steps-through-egypt

شرم الشيخ و دهب - اسبوع في ساعه 2013