The number of Italian tourists to Egypt this year increased by 40%, in comparison to 2018, the Minister of Tourism, Rania Al-Mashat, said on Monday, however she did not reveal the exact number of Italian tourists in 2019. Al-Mashat received a media delegation from Italy on Saturday, following a conference organised by the ministry to announce the launch of the second series of a documentary produced by the Italian media group MediaSet on ancient Egypt. During her meeting with the Italian media delegation, the minister said the political stability in Egypt has contributed toward increasing the tourist inflows to Egypt from all over the world, especially from Italy. Al-Mashat referred to the depth of Egyptian-Italian relations, and the presence of a lot of Italian investment projects in Egypt and vice versa. “For Italy, Egypt is one of the most important strategic partners in the Middle East and Africa region at all levels, as one of the most attractive countries to invest in, in the Euro-Mediterranean region,” according to the State Information Service. “Italian tourists are interested in beach tourism, and they are increasingly interested in Egyptian cultural tourism,” the minister disclosed. The minister's meeting came two days after the conference organised by the ministry of tourism to announce the launch of the new season of a documentary series produced by the largest media group in Italy named Mediaset, in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism, which aims to present the secrets of ancient Egyptian civilisation. The minister of tourism noted that for the first time the ministry established an integrated programme of structural reform, launched last November, in order to develop the Egyptian tourism sector, which is based on promoting tourism to Egypt. Furthermore, Al-Mashat assured that the ministry's new strategy depends on using modern technology, and modernising the means of promoting tourism to Egypt.
