www.Arabnews.com Egyptian Tourism Minister Zuhair Garana said that the proposed causeway that would connect Saudi Arabia and Egypt would help double tourism traffic between the two countries. He added that the project is still under consideration but needs more time for feasibility studies.
The minister made his comments yesterday at a press conference held at Jeddah’s Crowne Plaza Hotel during a tour by Egyptian tourism officials. The minister said that about 88,000 Saudi tourists visited Egypt last year, a 7.5 percent increase from the year before. Saudis represented 22 percent of all Arab tourists who visited Egypt last year, he pointed out.
“I expect this number to increase this year to 100,000 despite the suspension of some ferries between the two counties,” he said.
Garana said he has met with Prince Sultan ibn Salman, secretary-general of the Supreme Commission for Tourism. “We coordinated a visit for a delegate from the Supreme Tourism Commission next week,” he said.
Regarding the Egyptian ministry’s efforts to regulate Haj and Umrah tour operators there, Zuhair Garana said the government is “considering some suggestions to settle the phenomenon of overstaying,” referring to the problem of pilgrims using religious visas to enter Saudi Arabia and then stay to live here illegally.
Deputy Tourism Minister Hassan Jamal Al-Din said some tour operators in Egypt have been shut down but did not say over what period of time or provide a number of operators that have been shut down. |