EgyptAir plans to launch a direct flight from Cairo to the Indian capital of New Delhi next October, totaling at three flights at week, according to Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou. With EgyptAir's existing route of four flights per week to Bombay, there will be seven flights to India per week in total, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Tourism. Zaazou said the new route's addition was motivated by a desire to increase the number of tourist arrivals from India to Egypt in the coming period. "We are coordinating with the Ministry of Civil Aviation to increase private traffic arriving from new markets, especially the Indian market, which is a promising market for Egyptian tourism," Zaazou stated. The Ministry of Tourism is planning to open up new markets in South and East Asia, especially India and China, in order to increase tourists visiting archaeological sites in Luxor and Cairo, according to Zaazou. Cultural tourism has been greatly affected by the political unrest in Egypt, according to Abdelrahman Anwar, deputy chairman of the Cruise Investors Association. While there are about 286 cruises located along the Nile between Luxor and Aswan, only 10 of them are currently operating. There has been a steady decline of tourists arriving to Egypt through the first half of this year. Only 4.4 million tourists visited the country, which represents a 24% decrease from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Tourism. According to a statement by the Ministry of Tourism, the Egyptian-Indian partnership in the field of tourism includes organising annual exhibitions, events, and tourists groups in both countries. This partnership also involves encouraging tourism companies, operators, and hotels to provide incentives to attract tourists from both countries. Zaazou added that the Indian market is promising for Egypt because of Indian citizens' ability to spend, given the "economic renaissance taking place in the Indian subcontinent".
