Tourism Min. meets JATA head at Tourism Expo Japan 2019

CAIRO – 27 October 2019: Tourism Minister Rania al-Mashat has met with Chairman of the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) Hiromi Tagawa during her participation in the Tourism Expo Japan 2019, held in Osaka.

The Egyptian minister highlighted that the tourism industry grew by 16.5 percent in 2018, according to the World Tourism and Travel Council figures, which is over four times the average growth of global tourism, recording 3.9 percent.

Al-Mashat listed Tokyo as one of the most important Japanese tourism exporting cities to Egypt, followed by Osaka, and Hokkaido.

According to Mashat, the number of Japanese tourists to Cairo increased by 38.2 percent during the first nine months of 2019, in comparison to the same period of 2018.

Tourism EXPO Japan 2019, scheduled for October 24 and 25, focused on tourism as a major factor for the revitalization of regional economy and job creations.

During the meeting, Tagawa said Egypt is deemed an important tourist destination by Japanese, who are keen to visit and get to know more about the Egyptian culture and heritage.

Tagawa further said he is looking forward to know more about the tourism sector in Egypt and looking forward to cooperate with the Ministry of Tourism in the coming period to increase the number of Japanese tourists to Egypt.



Mashat also pointed out that there are many aspects of cooperation between the two countries in many fields and projects, including the Great Egyptian Museum, which is carried out in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Organization (JICA), inviting JATA to organize flights to visit the museum after its inauguration.

Mashat said the ministry was keen to participate in the tourism exhibition, which is being held for the first time in Osaka, as it considers it one of the most important international tourism exhibitions.