The Ministry of Tourism is hoping to increase tourist arrivals from Britain this year to 1 million tourists, up from 850,000 last year, according to a ministry official. The official is currently attending the World Travel Market (WTM) bourse in London, which is held annually at the beginning of November. In a Monday phone interview from London, the official said the British market fell behind Germany to second place last year in terms of tourist numbers visiting Egypt. According to the Ministry of Tourism, inbound tourism to Egypt last year reached 9.5 million tourists, representing a decrease of 2 million tourists from the year before. The areas of Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh are the most popular coastal areas visited by British tourists during their visits to Egypt, alongside ancient archaeological sites in Luxor and Aswan. Spending per night for British tourists exceeds $70, with the average stay of eight nights, according to the official. British investments in residence units in Sharm El-Sheikh exceed £150m, according to the chairman of the Tourism Committee of the Egyptian Businessmen's Association. The area of the Egyptian pavilion at the WTM has been expanded by 150 square metres over last year's area to a total of 780 square metres. The goal of the expansion is to increase participation by companies and hotels operating in Egypt, 65 of which will partake this year, according to a statement issued by the ministry. According to the ministry, the WTM is the second largest tourism bourse after Internationale Tourismus-Börse Berlin (ITB) in Germany. Daily News Egypt has previously revealed that ministry is aiming to participate in 21 tourism exhibitions during fiscal year (FY) 2014/2015. This comes as part of its efforts to increase sector income to $10.5bn, up from the $5bn attained during FY 2013/2014.
