Tourism sector aims to increase number of French tourists to 500,000 by end of 2015: Ministry official

French tourists were the most frequent visitors of monumental sites in southern Egypt

The Egyptian General Authority for Tourism Development will begin intensifying its presence in France starting September.

An official told Daily News Egypt that the authority aims to increase the number of French tourists to Egypt during the upcoming winter, especially to Luxor and Aswan. He added that the Ministry of Tourism is cooperating with the private sector, represented by the Egyptian Federation of Chambers of Tourism, to participate in Top Resa Exhibition, which will be held late next September.

The official said the authority sent an announcement to the Chamber of Travel Agencies, providing details about the Top Resa Exhibition and the cost of its participation. The participation of hotels and companies' participation amounts to €2000.

The official added that the tourism ministry is working on raising the number of French tourists to Egypt this year and the number of French tourists is aimed to reach 500,000 compared to 144,000 tourists in 2014.

The official also added French tourists were the most frequent visitors of monumental sites in Upper Egypt, in Luxor and Aswan. Unfortunately over the past four years, the number of French tourists decreased, due to the political instability. He noted that the ministry is promoting Luxor and Aswan separately from Cairo.

In a press release, Minister of Tourism Khaled Ramy told Daily News Egypt that his ministry intends to allocate 25% of the promotional budget for the marketing of Egypt this year to Luxor and Aswan, aiming to raise the tourist flow to this zone.

Hotel rooms in Luxor and Aswan amount to 21,000 rooms, out of which 17,000 are rooms located in floating hotels operating in the course of the river between the two cities. The other 4,000 rooms are fixed ones.

The official recalled that the tourism ministry revealed earlier this year its agreement with Egypt Air to facilitate direct flights from different western European countries, which was activated in July. He added that the ministry is studying the possibility of increasing the incentives offered to foreign companies, whether regarding landing fees, take-off fees or land services fees.


It is worth mentioning that tourism income in 2014 reached $7.3bn instead of $5.9bn the previous year. Income over the first half of this year reached $3.3bn instead of $3.2bn during the same period last year.

The official concluded that tourists who visit monumental sites spend more than tourists who visit coastal areas. Moreover, cultural tourists stay in Egypt for a longer period, more than one week, repeating their visits more than once annually. All these factors make those tourists one of the most important consumers of tourism services.