The upcoming Egyptian parliamentary and presidential elections will boost the tourism sector, says Egyptian Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou.
"The elections will serve as a turning point in increasing political stability, as well as enhancing the levels of safety and security over the next few months," Zaazou told a press conference in Dubai.
Zaazou is currently visiting Dubai as part of his tour to Arabian Travel Market (ATM) at the Dubai World Trade Center.
The event is set to break all previous records with over 2,700 exhibitors; 68 national pavilions; 40 seminar and technology theater sessions and over 21,000 trade visitors.
"Despite the problems faced by the tourism sector in recent years, Egypt still offers the most popular tourist destinations on a global level," he said.
"We have received more than 32 million tourists in the past three years, 20 percent of which were Arabs.
This confirms the massive attraction that Egypt remains to be in the Arab world," he pointed out.
Zaazou also disclosed the launch of the first 'Egypt Air' and 'Egypt Air Express' flights from Jeddah Airport to Hurghada, who will be operating two flights per week from 20 May.
In addition, 'Air Cairo' flights from Kuwait to Hurghada will kick-off from May 21 with two flights per week. "Direct flights are also set to be launched soon from Riyadh to Hurghada" he added.
These are an addition to the existing 12 flights to Sharm El Sheikh from Riyadh, Jeddah and Kuwait operating across four days a week.
"Currently Egypt Air and Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) offer direct flights from Jeddah and Riyadh to Sharm El Sheikh ", he said.
"We want to make it known that Egypt is a strategic, safe tourism destination for Arab and foreign visitors alike," he added.
According to him, Arab investments in the tourism sector amounted to 2.180 billion Egyptian pounds.
Meanwhile, in a separate press conference which was organized to detail the Arabian Travel Market, Mark Walsh, portfolio director of Reed Travel Exhibitions, said that this year's showcase will see more than 120 new exhibitors make their ATM debut plus the launch of several exciting new initiatives.
Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said that the event provides the opportunity to communicate with the industry to share the successes and outline future plans.
Majid Al Mualla, DSVP Commercial Operations Center, Emirates Airline, said: "This year's ATM is special because it is the first since it was announced that Dubai would host Expo in 2020. It is an opportunity to celebrate the travel and tourism industry, which is so fundamentally important to Dubai.
New features and services for ATM 2014 include the launch of the first ever specialized annual theme, with a 'Spotlight on Luxury' focus encompassing several luxury-specific seminars, hosted buyers representing this valuable market segment and high-end exhibitors including well-known hospitality brands and premium destinations.
