The Egyptian Minister of Transport Atef Abdel Hamid denied rumors that his Ministry cancelled the Aqaba and Taba ferry line, especially since the port of Aqaba is a major outlet for tourism from Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia as well as foreign tourists coming from Jordan. According to the Jordanian newspaper "Ghad," Hamid said the Egyptian government does not intend to cancel tours coming through the Aqaba and Taba port. Jordanian tourism companies operating on the line expressed fears of the cancellation as this might have a negative impact on tourism to Egypt via the port of Aqaba as well as tourist charter flights to Egypt via Taba. Tourism companies said that closing the port will negatively impact Jordanian, Arab and foreign tourists coming to Egypt through Taba, and will thus negatively impact the tourist tours they organize. These companies create programs that attract tourists to both Egypt and Jordon, in particular to places such as Sinai, Aqaba and Petra. These programs go in accordance with an agreement signed in 2005 between the Egyptian and Jordanian Ministries of Tourism. Hamid visited Jordon yesterday and attended a three day conference during which he held talks with Jordanian Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit and his Jordanian and Iraqi counterparts. He also attended the inauguration ceremonies of tourism boats "Ellia" and "Babel" owned by a Jordanian company in Aqaba.
