Egyptian Minister of Tourism, Khaled Ramy, has announced the opening of the Egyptian Tourism Authority's (ETA) its first GCC headquarters in Abu Dhabi, which will be operational in July 2015, and is mandated to oversee activities in the Arabian Gulf, Lebanon and Jordan. He also launched ETA's new ‘Masr Qariba' (Egypt is Close) campaign, which is targeted at Arab audiences and is being launched prior to the upcoming Arabian Travel Market event in Dubai. Khaled Ramy said, "We are pleased to be launching the ‘Masr Qariba' campaign, which highlights that our proximity to Arab countries, is not just geographical, but also built on common cultural, historical and social grounds. As is customary for Egypt, we continue to welcome Arab tourists to our country as we maintain our position as a significant hub for culture, art and tourism in the region. We will also continue to create some of the most competitive offers and tourism packages for visitors from across the Middle East." ‘Masr Qariba' builds on the success of ETA's 2014 ‘Wahastouna' campaign, which led to a significant increase in the number of tourists visiting Egypt from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. The overall 2014 increase in tourists compared to 2013 broke down as: 74.2 percent additional visitors from the UAE, 68.6 percent additional visitors from KSA and approximately 48 percent additional visitors from Kuwait. Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and the ETA both played an important role in increasing the flow of Arab visitors to Egypt during the first quarter of 2015, where figures showed an increase of 22 percent in comparison to the same period in 2014. Source:Emirates News Agency
