By Salwa Samir To boost co-operation over tourism, the Indonesian Embassy held its first tourism round-table meeting in Egypt on Monday night. It was attended by representatives of the Indonesian tourism ministry and the Egyptian travel agents. "There was an increase of 1.8 per cent in the number of Egyptian tourists visiting Indonesia in the first quarter of 2018, compared to the same period in 2017. Last year, about 14,325 Egyptian tourists visited Indonesia," Indonesian Ambassador in Cairo Helmy Fauzy said. "I believe that our commitment and strategic effort in the tourism sector will boost these numbers." The diplomat pointed out that since 2016, the Indonesian government has been offering visa-free travel to 169 countries, including Egypt. "So, Egyptians can visit Indonesia without a visa for 30 days through one of the 124 designated border crossings, including 29 airports, 88 seaports and seven land border checkpoints," Ambassador Fauzy added. During the meeting, the Egyptian tour operators and their Indonesian counterparts discussed special prices for Bali and Jakarta, the two most popular tourist destinations in Indonesia. Lilis Fauziah, deputy director of promotions for the Middle East and Africa at the Indonesian Tourism Ministry, said that the Middle East countries were one of the most promising markets for tourism to her country. "The number of tourists from the Middle East has increased significantly during the last couple of years. In 2017, there were 48,598 visitors, while from January to August 2018, the number rose to 54,333," she said.
