The United States market represents 3% of incoming tourism to Egypt, the Egyptian Minister of Tourism, Rania Al-Mashat, said during her meeting with the US delegation participating in the 110th session of the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) held in the period from 16 to 18 June in Baku, Azerbaijan. Al-Mashat asserted that her ministry is working to increase the number of American tourists in Egypt. According to the State Information Service (SIS), the year 2010 was the best year for American tourist arrivals to Egypt, where more than half a million tourists visited the North African country, representing 3.8% of the total tourist arrivals in Egypt in the same year. The number of American tourists declined after 2010. In 2015, only 294,000 Americans visited Egypt, representing only 3.2% of total tourist arrivals to the country in the same year. For its part, the US delegation pointed to their country's aspiration for more cooperation between the two countries in the field of tourism. The US delegation included the White House Principal Deputy Chief of Staff in the administration of President Donald Trump., Emma Doyle; the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organisation Affairs, Kevin Moley; the Commissioner of the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad, Paul Packer; and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organisation Affairs, Kathy Wills Wright. During her participation in the UNWTO meetings, Al-Mashat also met with Bahrain's Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism, Zayed Bin Alzayani, to discuss boosting cooperation between the two countries in the field of tourism. Throughout the meeting, Al-Mashat stressed the deep relations between the two Arab countries, expressing her ministry's keenness to attract more tourists from Arab countries, especially Bahrain, pointing out that the Arab market represents about 30% of the tourist arrivals to Egypt. For his part, Alzayani stated that Gulf Air operates 19 flights to Egypt weekly, landing in the airports of Cairo, Alexandria, and Sharm El-Sheikh. He confirmed Bahrain's interest to promote Egypt as a tourist destination, not only in Bahrain, but also across the world, relying on its good relations with the GCC and the Far East countries.
