JEDDAH: The Egypt Tourism Authority (ETA) on Saturday launched a three-year campaign, titled “This is Egypt,” to further promote the tourism sector. The drive was launched with the cooperation of Arab Tourism Organization (ATO) of the Arab League in Jeddah.

In a change from previous ETA efforts, this campaign will be digitally-led, focusing on peer-to-peer advocacy, while traditional advertising methods will form a secondary promotional level.

During the launch, Bandar Fahad Al-Fehaid, president of ATO, said the organization has drawn up a strategic plan to target one million tourists from Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries to Egypt.

Egypt’s Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou said the campaign is a powerful movement which will resonate in the region. “We are at a pivotal point in terms of tourism development in the country and the new campaign demonstrates our commitment in attracting travelers from our sister Arab countries to discover our beautiful nation,” he said.

The three-year campaign will focus on attracting and engaging diverse audiences and see artistic and social cultural programs for visitors, especially Saudis.

“We are having a year-round cooperation to increase the flow of tourism from the Kingdom and clear all the obstacles. There are issues of flights from Riyadh to Cairo, which we are trying to be solve,” he said.

The recent plane incident cost 2.2 billion Egyptian pounds and is harming tourism, but the country is doing its best to provide more safety and security to tourists.

Egypt adopted a new policy to issue visa within seven days, and Saudi citizens and Arab countries can get visa on arrival.

The campaign will highlight Egypt’s touristic destinations into four main geographic attractions: Nile Valley, Red Sea Riviera, White Mediterranean and Western Desert.

Personalyzing the Egyptian experience is the variety of holiday which can be enjoyed in Egypt from a vibrant city break in Alexandria or Cairo to luxury beach getaway in Hurghada or Sharm El Sheikh.

Egypt recently passed an assessment by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) with inspectors from Russian, Dutch, Emirati and Italian airlines. It is also collaborating with delegations from the UK, Germany and Russia to implement the strongest security measures possible.