CAIRO - The Minister of Tourism was greatly relieved when he received reassuring reports of lively tourism activities in the Red Sea resorts of Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada. Munir Fakhri Abdel-Nour expressed his happiness that tourism was strongly recovering from the huge threats it had encountered since the outbreak of the revolution on January 25. He displayed signs of his optimism during a press conference he led in the internationally known Sharm el-Sheikh, part of festivities marking the resort winning the International Oscar for Tourism. The minister emphasised that Sharm el-Shiekh's win of this prestigious international award has underlined the growing success of Egypt's tourism in general and its strong competition with tourist markets abroad. Abdel-Nour recalled that the unhappy tourism performance in August had motivated his decision to give top priority to a rescue operation. According to his recollections of August, the minister regretted that tourism activities in this particular month had declined by 20 per cent compared with the corresponding period last year. However, the minister acknowledged that, despite this decline, Russian and Ukraine tourists had stimulated his confidence in the growing success of Egypt's tourism. He explained: “Tourists from Russia, who visited Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada in August this year increased by 20 per cent over last year, while Ukrainian tourists increased by 30 per cent in the same period compared with last year.” Not satisfied with this strong performance, the minister disclosed that his ministry had initiated an ambitious plan in collaboration with tour operators and companies in the Russian market to help increase the pace of Egypt's tourism. Sharm el-Sheikh activities Abdel-Nour said that Sharm el-Sheikh would become more internationally famed after it has fully matured into a green resort. The eco-tourism activities in Sharm el-Sheikh, he explained, involve more than 400 hotels and tourist villages. The minister dispelled worries about the recurrence of the tragic shark attacks that occurred last year in Sharm el-Sheikh. He said that high-level safety and protection measures had been carried out in the area and pointed out: “But it must be known that shark attacks in Egypt compared to other countries remain very rare.” The Governor of South Sinai, who attended the press conference, substantiated the minister's ecological emphasis when he said that national protectorates in Sharm el-Shiekh had been reorganised. “The fishing of certain species of fish has also been banned in the area,” Khaled Fouda said. Firm measures will be taken as well against ships and vessels, such as these that dump dead lambs off the coast in Sharm el-Sheikh attracting the sharks, which then become wild and aggressive. The governor of South Sinai declared that inspection teams were maintaining round-the-clock surveillance of the area to prevent any recurrence of last year's tragic incidents.
Getting Egypt back on track Abdel-Nour told the press conference: “Confidence in Egypt as a leading tourist destination in the world has increased after the nation has managed to strengthen stability and safety.” The optimistic minister promised that Egypt's tourism would become healthier and more successful within a few years. He explained that a long-term rescue plan would bring Egypt back on track in 2020. Since he assumed office, the challenges facing Egypt's tourism have been Abdel-Nour's chief concern. The minister criticising voices that are seeking to lay the foundations of a religious state in Egypt and stated that Egypt's civil identity would boost Egypt's image in regional and international markets. Abdel-Nour, who was a leading member in Al-Wafd opposition party before assuming the tourism portfolio in the Cabinet of acting Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, refused to reject calls suggesting that foreign observers should be invited to oversee general elections in Egypt. “We welcome NGOs, human rights organisation and foreign observers to come over and observe general elections in the country,” Abdel-Nour insisted during the press conferences. Tourism's vital role Emphasising the vital role tourism is playing in replenishing the national income, the minister estimated at $10 billion the annual revenues produced by local tourism. Underlining the sheer size of the figure, Abdel-Nour commented: “Even if a religious group, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, assumed power in Egypt, such a tantalisingly large revenue would convince the Muslim Brotherhood to protect this strategic industry.” The minister confirmed that he was told by key figures in the Islamist group that none of its leaders or their second-in-commands was averse to tourism activities in Egypt. Paying tribute to the great event of the revolution on January 25, Abdel-Nour said that the Egyptian people that day revolted against disastrous situations inflicted upon them for 30 years. “Despite the unhappy aftermath of the revolution, none of the tourists in the country was attacked or experienced a bad situation. Moreover, many tourists visited Tahrir Square and mingled with the huge demonstrations taking place there.” In his press statement, Abdel-Nour denied reports that the Israeli-Egyptian relationship was strained in the wake of the attack on the Israeli embassy in Giza. But he implied that the two countries were in the process of reorganising more judiciously their joint relations. Tourist visa procedures The minister dismissed miscalculated statements, which had indicated that the transitional Egyptian government had amended tourist visa procedures approved before the revolution. “The visa procedures, which were endorsed by the former government, remain intact and no changes have been applied in this respect,” he affirmed. Reiterating his chief concern again, Abdel-Nour said that reports he had received from Egyptian tourist offices in foreign markets had stimulated his confidence about the strong comeback of local tourism. “These reports are promising and very optimistic,” he disclosed. ‘1001 Smiles' The minister is preparing to fly to Paris on Sunday to lead an ambitious campaign launched under the motto ‘1000 Smiles'. He told the press conference that he was pretty sure that the campaign in France would be productive He revealed that he was planning to launch an aggressive marketing campaign in eastern Europe. Eastern European tourists “The attributes and merits of Egypt's tourism are very popular among tourists from eastern European countries. We have to upgrade our marketing campaigns in these countries.” Likewise, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism is preparing to intensify its presence in international travel markets and at different events. Abdel-Nour visits Mersa Alam Having visited the Red Sea resort of Mersa Alam, Abdel-Nour explained the purpose of his visit at a board meeting of the Mersa Alam Tourist Development. “Speaking on behalf of the government, I sent a message to investors in this area that they would not be let down. Rather, the government is keen to remove obstacles, which hinder the implementation of tourist ambitions planned by foreign and Egyptian investors in Mersa Alam,” he stressed. He stated at the press conference that investors, whether Egyptian or foreign, had retaken plots of land that had been seized by the acting government in connection with alleged contractual suspicions and administrative irregularities. Egyptian-Turkish co-operation The minister said that Egyptian-Turkish investment and trade co-operation had received a huge boost during the recent visit of the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “During the Turkish PM's visit, the two sides signed 12 joint agreements, which included tourism activities.” The tourist agreement also encourages tourist sectors in both countries to work hand-in-hand in virgin markets in India, China, Canada and the US. Arab markets are also given top priority by the minister and his rescue team. Abdel-Nour said that increased marketing efforts would be made in the Arab Gulf countries in particular. “We are in the process of removing inconveniences, which frustrate plans by motorists to visit Egypt,” he said. Encouraging children The minister urged parents to encourage their children to learn more about tourism and its vital role in their life and future. He said: “Tourism education is very important in Egypt, the country being a leading tourist destination internationally. [Parents] should help their children to enhance their tourism culture.”
