CAIRO: Realizing the importance of art, particularly cinema and television, and its direct effect on tourism, experts from the Egyptian tourism sector and key players in the movie and television industry decided to join forces for the welfare of Egypt's economy. Experts from both industries gathered earlier this week to discuss the effect of film on tourism and the challenges currently facing moviemakers when filming in Egypt. "Art is the ambassador attracting people to the country, said Adel Abdel-Razek, head of the Egyptian Tourism Federation, organizer of the roundtable discussion "Art and Tourism to Support the Local Economy, in collaboration of the Egyptian Actors Union. "There has been a [gap between] tourism and art but we need to bring them together and that can be done through a committee with representatives from both parties, he proposed. The discussion cited Turkish soap operas, which were introduced to the Arab World that, two summers ago when the images of the Bosporus and other beautiful scenery were able to lure in the audience, consequently sky-rocketing the number of tourists coming in to the country. "Tourism can greatly benefit from art and we are very interested in cooperating in a number of ways because I know the return will be exponential, said deputy Minister of Tourism, Hisham Za'azou. The need for cooperation between the tourism sector and the movie and television industry to attract tourists to Egypt is vital. Both parties voiced their concerns at the meeting, the most important of which was the high cost of filming at touristic locations, which results in producers avoiding them as much as they can. "Every single entity, whether private or public, we deal with as we are filming are only looking at how they can profit from us. Their [reasoning] is 'Look at how much you're paying this actor', said Mohamed El Adl, movie producer. El Adl produced the movie "Short, Fanela We Cap, which was lauded for bringing more tourists in to Sharm El-Sheikh. "We realize that there will be a return for us whether directly or indirectly from this cooperation, said Wagdy El-Kerdany, head of the Chamber of Touristic Establishments. "However, you also need to work on the image you portray of the touristic sites and the people in the sector, for example a corrupt businessman is always a person who owns a touristic compound and then flees with the people's money. This image needs to change, he explained. On his part, Head of the Egyptian Actors' Union Ashraf Zaki explained that it is becoming increasingly difficult to film in touristic locations, whether the historical ones operated by the state which require permits, or the private ones which require unreasonably high prices. Producer Mohamed Hassan Ramzy urged tourism officials "to give me the platform to be creative, adding that the limitations imposed on them whether through the permits or the high costs affect the quality of the movies nowadays. "The Egyptian movie makes people love Egypt; till this day people from the Gulf come to take a picture at the bridge Abdel Halim Hafez sang to Shadia on, he explained. Another major concern also discussed was Egypt losing its position as the pioneer of cinema and television in the Middle East, which renowned actor Mahmoud Hemeida described as "a cold cultural war. Representing the government in the discussion was MP Hisham Mostafa Khalil, who has started an initiative at the People's Assembly aimed at restoring the movie industry. "I want you [both the tourism sector and film industry] to look at the PA not as an obstacle in the way but a means of getting things done, he said. "Please come forth with your objectives and problems and I promise you they will be solved because there is a [scheme] trying to [play down] the effect of Egypt on the Arab World and together we need to face it, explained Khalil.
