Egypt Appoints New Tourism MinisterKhaled Abba Ramy as minister of tourism for Egypt

Khaled Abba Ramy minister of tourism for Egypt

The Egyptian Tourist Authority announced the appointment of Khaled Abba Ramy as minister of tourism for Egypt, succeeding Hisham Zaazou. Ramy assumed the duties of the office March 5.

Minister Ramy has a post graduate degree in architectural design from Cairo University, but he has spent most of his career working in tourism.

He started in the tourism industry in 1990 and worked for eight years as a tour guide and group leader in Egypt.

His most recent post was the position of supervisor of the e-marketing unit of the Egyptian Tourist Authority, in which position he served since March 2012.

From 2004 to early 2012, Ramy served as a tourism counselor at the Egyptian Embassy in London and the director of the Egyptian Tourist Office in London.

He has held a variety of other posts within the Egyptian Tourist Authority since 1994.

In his first public statement as tourism minister, Ramy said he is committed to honoring all agreements and contracts that were in place during the previous administration, including agreements with travel agents and tour operators.

‘Egypt is Close’ campaign to support inter-Arab tourism

‘Egypt is Close’ campaign to support inter-Arab tourism

Campaign will be launched by specialised company, expected to continue for three months, says Tourism Minister.

Mr.Samy Mahmoud- Chjairman of Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority

The Ministry of Tourism and the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority (ETPA) are set to launch Thursday evening a promotional campaign entitled “Misr Qareeba” (Egypt is Close).

This will take place as part of a major celebration attended by Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb and a number of ministers, ambassadors, governors, celebrities and representatives of the private tourism sector.

The promotional campaign is oriented towards the Arab market, to support inter-Arab tourism, according to a Tourism Ministry statement released Wednesday.

Minister of Tourism Hisham Zaazou said the focus on Arab tourism is not a luxury but a necessity, in light of the importance of Arab tourism and the high level of Arab tourists’ spending and length of occupancy.

Zaazou said the Ministry of Tourism and the Tourism Promotion Authority have exerted further efforts to attract more Arab tourists, which included launching a previous campaign entitled “We Missed You”.

“We Missed You” targeted Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait in May 2014. The results were an increase of 149.4% in tourists coming from those countries from July to December 2014, according to Zaazou.

“In the celebration, a singing operetta will be shown, performed by a large number of Arab and Egyptians artists,” said Zaazou. “After the opening ceremony, the campaign will be launched by a specialised company, on social networks and some newspapers, magazines and TV channels in the Gulf region.”

He revealed that the “Egypt is Close” campaign will continue for three months, and is expected to achieve positive results in the light of security and political stability signs.

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25 US tour operators arrive in Luxor

25 US tour operators arrive in Luxor

Luxor Tempel

CAIRO: A U.S. delegation of 25 tour operators and media figures arrived in Luxor to participate in an international conference of tour operators scheduled to be held Sunday, Tourism Ministry said in a statement.

“Luxor governorate, in coordination with the Tourism Ministry and the Tourism Promotion Authority (TPA), will host a one-day conference that gathers leading tour operators in Europe and North America. Other tourism professionals, including airline and car rental companies are participating in the business to business as well as business to customer conference that aims to boost cultural tourism and attract more tourists to visit Upper Egypt,” head of TPA Mahmoud Sami told The Cairo Post Saturday.

According to the Tourism Ministry, Europe accounts for 72 percent of Egypt’s inbound tourism.

Revenues from tourism, comprising 11.3 percent of Egypt’s gross domestic product (GDP,) witnessed a sharp decline in the aftermath of the political instability following Egypt’s 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou stated Saturday the event is expected to increase tourism revenues by $9 million every year, adding that the sales of the 25 U.S. operators in 2013 reached $162.1 million.

The conference coincides with the tourism ministry’s celebration of the 110th anniversary of the discovery of Queen Nefertari’s Tomb which will also take place in Luxor.

Samir Isaac, the head of the Hotels Chamber in Luxor, told The Cairo Post Saturday that “five of the best hotels” in Luxor, including the historic Winter Palace, have been selected to accommodate the U.S. delegation members. He added that they are scheduled to do sightseeing to the city’s main points of interest including the Valley of the Kings, Karnak Temple and the house of Howard Carter; the British archaeologist who discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922.

http://www.thecairopost.com/news/138421/inside_egypt/25-us-tour-operators-arrive-in-luxor