Travco plans to establish a number of hotel and tourism projects during the upcoming period as a result of witnessing a growth in Egypt's tourism sector with investments that total EGP 3bn Chairman and CEO of the company Hamed El-Chiaty said that the recent Economic Summit has plenty in favour of the tourism sector. He added that that the summit is a positive indicator of the Egyptian economy's recovery, and improves the image of Egypt, as well as providing reassurance to tourists and tour organisers. He added that the time is right for promoting Egyptian tourism using modern methods in order to increase Egypt's share in the global tourism market, reaching 30 million tourists over the next few years. El-Chiaty said the group would establish two new hotels this year in Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada, to add over 1,000 rooms and suites to its capacity, so that it would reach 10,000 rooms. The work on another nine hotels in the coming period in Sharm El-Sheikh, Soma Bay in Hurghada, Sahl Hasheesh, Safaga and Marsa Alam. He added that the investment cost of the hotels to be established this year has been valued at EGP 750m. Investment income in the sector is good, as El-Chiaty put it, and Egypt has many big tourist advantages which make it active all year long. The country must also take advantage of that to raise the quality of the tourist services offered. El-Chiaty emphasised the company is about to offer a tender for phase II of the Almaza Gulf project on the North Coast of Egypt. This is a housing tourist project extending over an area of 6.5m sqm that currently includes five hotels. When the project is completed, it is projected to include seven hotels of 5 stars and 400 housing units. Travco also aims to develop new standards through building a high-quality tourist resort where tourists as well as visitors can enjoy the unique location in the North Coast, said El-Chiaty. "We are sure that we can develop our economy to reach the level of before, or even better. Obviously Egypt is a country with various tourist attractions," El-Chiaty added. "Travco group will continue to focus on the Egyptian market. In order to develop the tourism sector, Egypt is dedicating a big amount of investments to improve the infrastructure within the high demand proposed for travelling to Egypt," he said. "From Travco's side, the company is working on expanding its activities in the European market, aiming to increase its marketing for Egyptian destinations." El-Chiaty established Travco in 1979, with the company now considered one of the most important groups for tourism, travelling with the best hotels in Egypt. Travco annually attracts almost one million tourists to Egypt.
