EGYPT is readying itself to celebrate the arrival of the one millionth tourist from a single market.
And there is a ‘heated race’ between Italy and Germany to win that honour, said tourism minister Ahmed El Maghraby. He was speaking to the press on the sidelines of the MTF. Civil Aviation Minister Ahmed Shafik was also present.
Egypt is experiencing a strong rebound in European interest and according to Egyptian Tourism Authority figures, the country has received 5.3 million tourists between January and August this year.
This represents a 49 per cent increase over the 3.6 million visitors during the same period last year.
During the whole of 2003 more than 6.5 million tourists visited the land of Pyramids, bringing in a revenue of more than $6 billion. “We are launching an extensive media campaign in Europe to further spur the interest,’’ said El Maghraby.