CAIRO: Residential tourism will be one of the main focuses of the tourism ministry in the coming years, said Minister of Tourism Mohammed Zoheir Garana. Garana made this statement at a press conference at the Nile Hilton on Tuesday in an event organized by the British Egyptian Business Association (Beba) to discuss the potential of residential tourism in attracting foreign investment in the country. Real estate and residential tourism are one of the strongest bases for developing the industry, Garana said. However participants pointed out obstacles, which mainly revolve around chaos on the roads, traffic problems and stringent government regulations concerning the ownership of residential units in Sharm El-Sheikh. It is a culture that has to change, it will take time but it has to change, Garana said commenting on Egyptians bad driving habits. The ministry of interior has devised a set of new traffic regulations which will soon be discussed by the cabinet, Garana added. Following 22 accidents involving tourists since he took office, Garana set up a committee to investigate the accidents. Along with the Tourism Federation, the Ministry of Tourism created a new system that will not only train bus drivers but has employed a German company to accredit drivers, indicated Garana. He added that drivers would be subjected to blood tests to monitor alcohol and drug levels on a regular basis. The deteriorating status of public beaches in Egypt was another of the concerns discussed at the seminar. The minister responded that public beaches exist all over the world and that the public varies according to the culture. Private beaches are available, Garana said adding that tourists go to private beaches and pay for them. As for the issue of government regulations, participants complained about the fact that foreigners are not allowed to own real estate in Sharm El-Sheikh. Regulations stipulate that non-Egyptians can only have a 99-year allowance for real estate in Sharm El-Sheikh, although this rule is no longer implemented in the rest of Sinai. Garana said that the ministries of tourism and justice are working on a refined contract concerning the matter. Mohamed Nosseir, chairman of Beba, emphasized the importance of residential tourism to Egypt s economy but added that one of the reasons why that law exists is because of the history of the region. We have bad memories of foreigners taking over our lands. The whole Middle East catastrophe started when Palestinians started selling off their land. He stressed however that residential tourism is a sustainable and ongoing investment. People can invest every year and spend more money. We have offices in England that work on selling homes in Egypt, Nosseir said. Last year we had 9 million tourists, although everybody doubted that we could ever reach this number, Garana concluded.
