Egyptian Minister of Tourism Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour went on a quick tour of Cairo Airport yesterday following his return from Rome after a trip to France and Italy. Abdel Nour held a number of meetings with tour operators abroad in an attempt to activate Egyptian tourism after the crippling recession that came after Egypt's January 25 Revolution. Fakhry told Youm 7 that the reason behind the tour was complaints received from foreign tourists, Arabs and Egyptians of ill-treatment received at the hands of taxi drivers and airport officials. He added that the Egyptian media played a major role during the events of the revolution in distorting the image of the security situation in Egypt, which had a negative impact on the influx of tourists coming into Egypt. He said he will be touring the Gulf in order to encourage tourists to return. Abdel Nour met with delegates of tour operators and limousine and taxi drivers during his inspection. They expressed their dissatisfaction with how officials run airport affairs, which apparently makes their respective jobs very difficult. At the end of his tour, the Minister of Tourism decided that there must be a new method of dealing with company representatives, tourism and taxi drivers and airport officials. He said this new relationship must be characterized by cooperation for the public interest. He also stressed that media needs to improve the image of the Egyptian street to restore confidence in the security of the country to foreign tourists.
