by Naglaa Ghonaim
Upon the prime minister’s directive, Minister of Civil Aviation Hossam Kamal and Minister of Tourism Khaled Ramy discussed means of cooperation between the two ministries in the coming term and plans to promote Arab tourism to Egypt, particularly during the Greater Bairam holidays.
The ministers agreed on the need to intensify promotion for tourist programmes in the Arab region, especially in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Jordan to attract tourists to Cairo for the Greater Bairam holidays through presenting special travel offers on EgyptAir flights from September 20 through 30.
Kamal said they agreed to set fixed and reduced fares for airline tickets from these countries to Cairo and to link them to a tourist programme that includes accommodation at five-star hotels in Greater Cairo. EgyptAir will also launch additional flights from Jeddah and Kuwait City to Sharm al-Sheikh during the Greater Bairam, he added.
He underlined the importance of cooperation and full coordination between the ministries of tourism and aviation to present an Egyptian tourist product that attracts various segments of tourists, particularly Arabs. He stressed that the aviation and tourism sectors are two faces of the same coin, and that cooperation between them creates more progress in both fields and therefore more national income for Egypt.
Ramy voiced hope that the new encouraging rates would increase the number of bookings at Greater Cairo hotels, which have suffered low accommodation rates over the past years. The Tourism Promotion Authority in conjunction with EgyptAir is offering reduced rates to travel agents taking part in the campaign in the target cities as well as EgyptAir’s offices abroad.
Meanwhile, the minister stressed the commitment of both ministries to the “Luxor and Aswan in Our Hearts” initiative, which aims to support the tourism sector in Upper Egypt.
Tourism programmes offered to Arab countries will include reduced airline ticket prices throughout the initiative. An airline ticket from Jeddah, including all fees and taxes, is worth 799 Saudi riyals, and from Riyadh 999. A ticket from Dubai or Abu Dhabi is sold at 1,299 UAE dirhams, from Kuwait City it is 60 dinars, and from Amman 160 dinars. The price of accommodation at various Greater Cairo hotels will be added to the ticket fare, which represents an integral tourist programme at competitive prices.
