Hotel occupancies in Luxor have increased from 30% to 35% during last week, according to Tharwat Al-Agamy, Chairman of the Chamber of Tourism Companies and Agencies. Al-Agamy added that visitors from Germany and Western Europe, especially Britain, were the reason behind the increase in the city's hotel occupancies. Luxor is considered one of the most important tourist cities in Egypt, after cities in the Red Sea and South Sinai, according to Al-Agamy. In early January, the Ministry of Tourism has requested direct flights from London and Paris to Luxor, as part of efforts to raise hotel occupancies. According to a Wednesday statement by the Egyptian General Authority for Tourism Promotion, the Ministry of Tourism has agreed to the Luxor African Film Festival. It has been scheduled to take place in the city from the 14 to 23 March, in cooperation with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Culture, Antiquities, and Youth and Sports, as well as the Luxor governorate. The authority added that the festival comes as part of the Ministry of Tourism and the Authority for Tourism Promotion's desire to foster and support festivals and tourist events. It is hoped these will promote Egypt's tourism, whilst maximising the benefit of these events in improving the image of tourist destinations in Egypt. "Festivals are of great importance in the restitution of cultural, artistic and economic relations between Egypt and its sister African countries, with all its nationalist, security, and economic strategic importance," said Sami Mahmoud, Chairman of the General Authority for Tourism Promotion. Mahmoud believes that the festivals are beneficial not only to tourism, but will acquaint visitors to Luxor with African Cinema. The plan is for 130 artistic figures from 31 African countries to participate in the festival, these countries include Sudan, Uganda, Algeria, Morocco, Mali, Liberia, Rwanda, and Cameroon. The festival directly contributes to supporting relations between African countries, which is a good chance for publicity and promotion of Egypt's tourism needs, according to the authority's vice-chairman and head of internal tourism sector, Ahmed Hamdy. According to Hamdy, the event is receiving wide international attention, through which a clear message could be sent regarding the safety and security Egypt enjoys, and its ability to host such important artistic events. The Luxor African Film Festival is held annually under the care of the Authority for Tourism Promotion and under its tourism agenda. It has achieved noticeable success in previous rounds, where more than 46 African countries have participated. Source: Daily News Egypt
