Reason for influx of European tourists in Egypt

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Sun, 17 Dec 2017 - 08:12 GMT

BY

Sun, 17 Dec 2017 - 08:12 GMT

FILE - Tourism in red sea - Egypt

FILE - Tourism in red sea - Egypt

CAIRO – 17 December 2017: Europe was the most important tourism market for Egypt in October 2017, after the majority of European nations lifted travel restrictions to Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt’s most popular tourist destination, and other Red Sea destinations.

The number of tourists visiting Egypt from Western Europe in October increased by 74.7 percent compared to October 2016, according to a report by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

The report added that there is an increase in the number of tourists from Italy by 99.9 percent, and from Germany by 96.8 percent, followed by the U.K. with an increase of 70.3 percent.

Tourism from Eastern Europe has increased by 116.4 percent, with 111,006 tourists in October 2017, compared to the same month last year. The number of tourists from Ukraine increased by 86.2 percent, while tourists from the Czech Republic have increased 71 percent, according to the report.

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FILE - Tourism in red sea - Egypt

Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Finland, Italy and Denmark lifted their warnings months ago. The decision was made after extensive efforts by Egypt’s ministries of foreign affairs, tourism and civil aviation to support tourism in Egypt, which is a pillar of the country's economy and a key source of hard currency.

Germans accounted for the greatest number of tourists to visit Egypt in 2016, with 655,000 people.

The number of tourists coming from all over the world to Egypt in October 2017 was 826,000, compared to 506,002 tourists in October 2016.

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FILE - Tourism in red sea - Egypt
A number of European airlines and governments introduced restrictions on flights to Sharm El-Sheikh over security concerns, after a Russian passenger jet crashed in Sinai in 2015.

Egypt has renewed calls for the British government to lift its ban on British flights to the tourist destination Sharm El-Sheikh, as the airports have passed every test set by British security officials.

According to The Sun, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not advise against travel to Cairo, Alexandria, the tourist areas along the Nile River (including Luxor, Qena, Aswan, Abu Simbel and the Valley of the Kings) and the Red Sea destinations of Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada.

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FILE - Tourism in red sea - Egypt

At the same time, Russia and Egypt are currently discussing the possible return of charter flights next spring, Russian Transportation Minister Maxim Sokolov stated on Saturday during a press conference.

Minister of Civil Aviation Sherif Fathy stated on Saturday that Russia and Egypt will carry out negotiations with private security companies to sign agreements regarding security in Egyptian airports, according to Sputnik news website.

An Egyptian-Russian cooperation protocol in maintaining civil aviation security was signed on Friday after a meeting between Fathy and Sokolov in Moscow, Egypt’s aviation ministry said in a statement.

The protocol intends to resume flights between Cairo and Moscow for the first time since 2015, starting in February 2018, the statement added.

Another reason behind such an increase in the number of tourists to Egypt is that Sharm El-Shikh hosted this year’s important international forums, in which high profile personalities and heads of states participated, in addition to guests from all over the world.

Under the theme “We Need to Talk”, the first round of the World Youth Forum conference was held in Sharm El-Sheikh on November 4 with the participation of 3,200 youths from 113 different nationalities.

Under the auspices of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, the Africa 2017 Forum: “Business for Africa, Egypt and the World” conference was held from December 7-9, 2017 in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.

The conference was attended by heads of states, governments and ministries from various African countries, as well as representatives of Egypt’s development partners and high-level figures in the business field of Egypt, Africa and worldwide. It aimed to promote investments for inclusive growth.

Egypt used to be one of the most popular holiday destinations in the world, and the government is exerting much effort to maintain Egypt’s economy and security to boost tourism.

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