CAIRO: When it comes to getting tourists into Egypt, the last thing on most people's minds would be a government partnership with the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's popular conservative Islamic group. This is exactly what the Egyptian Tour Guides Syndicate in Aswan is looking to do. The syndicate held a meeting on Sunday at the Muslim Brotherhood Association Headquarters in the city to look at ways of bolstering tourism in the present and in the future. Many tour operators are worried that a rise in influence of the Muslim Brotherhood and other conservative groups in the country could result in a loss of travelers coming to Egypt. “We are definitely worried because so many foreigners have the perception that the Brotherhood is bad for the country and would treat foreigners poorly,” said Seti tours manager Ahmed Nabil. The Syndicate discussed different ideas to promote tourism, including providing medical insurance plans for travelers to Egypt. “The Tour Guides Syndicate always holds meetings and seminars to discuss tour guides problems and to meet their demands,” said a press release following the meeting. “The last meeting was held with Edfu tour guides to try and meet their demands and increase their wages to 300 Egyptian pounds ($50) per day,” it added. BM
