Media delegations from France and Belgium have arrived in Cairo on Saturday evening as part of promotion campaign to revive Egypt’s tourism sector, Youm7 reported.
Comprised of media figures at leading newspapers and media outlets of the two countries, the two delegations are set to visit landmarks in Cairo, Luxor and Aswan.
This comes within the directives of the Prime Minister to the Minister of Tourism, to invite the largest number of representatives of the international media to visit Egypt, “to improve the country’s image and sent a positive message to the world,” Nesreen Athanely of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority was quoted by Youm7.
The number of tourists visiting Egypt has witnessed a sharp decline following the crash of a Russian airliner over Sinai in late October. Germany, Italy, Russia, France, and the U.K. are among the states that decided to halt flights to and from Egyptian airports shortly after the crash.
The tourism industry makes up 11.3% of Egypt’s GDP, while providing up to 14% of the country’s foreign currency revenue, according to the adviser to the minister of tourism, Mohamed Yousef.
The industry took a further dive following the murder of Italian Cambridge University graduate, Giulio Regeni, whose body was found dumped along a highway with signs of torture in Egypt’s Giza governorate in early February.
