RIYADH, 21 May 2007 — With many Saudi tourists now turning to Malaysia and other Asian countries to spend their summer holidays, Egyptian Minister of Tourism Mohammad Zuhair Garana denied that Egypt had lost its tourism glamour among Saudis.
The minister is leading a group of Egyptian tourism officials and businessmen on an official visit to the Kingdom.
Speaking to local journalists here Saturday evening, he said Saudi tourists continue to choose Egypt as a favorite destination, citing common language as well as similar Arab traditions of the region.
“Egypt will always remain special. We know the traditions and customs of Arabs. And we know what we have to do to increase the flow of tourists,” he said.
The minister pointed out that the percentage of Saudi tourists who had visited Egypt last year increased compared to the years before. “The number of Saudi tourists to Egypt during 2006 was 388,000, an increase of 7.5 percent from the previous year,” he said in a press conference.
The percentage was increasing this year, noting that in the first quarter of 2007, Saudi tourists in the country have increased by 32 percent.
He said his government was keen on eradicating all negative aspects which hindered the tourist flow to his country.
Asked why Arab tourists were being charged higher rates than European tourists or even local tourists at archeological sites, Garana said that the problem was over two decades old.
He attributed the problem to the organization of European travel agencies and the disorganization of Arab groups who visit the country. “As a group, if we say that we are arriving on the 1st day and leaving on the 15th, for example, they are given special prices,” he said, adding that Europeans stick to their time schedules and Arabs did not.
He said that “the culture of traveling with travel agencies” which organizes trips, tickets, routes and visits is hardly available among Arab tourists. He justified that local tourists were given cheaper prices due to the government encouraging locals to visit these sites.
Regarding the lack of road signs to ease directions for travelers in many of Egypt’s roads, the minister said that work was under way to increase the number of road signs on all major roads this year.
The minister noted that the Gulf culture of renting apartments for families was unavailable in Egypt in the past, but that investment in that particular area was now flourishing.
Speaking about terrorist attacks in the country and its affect on tourism, he said that security was and will remain tight in Egypt, not just for the sake of tourists, but for the sake of Egyptians, too. He gave the example of the terrorist attack in Sinai two years ago and how it affected only two percent of the total volume of tourists. “After two months, things return to normal,” he said.
Zarana said that in the past two years, several deals have been signed between Egypt Air and Saudi Arabian Airlines to increase additional flights between the Kingdom and Egypt.
“This has lead to charter flights between cities of both countries in a way never witnessed before,” he added.
