Egypt embraces more Chinese tourists

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-07-29 10:59

The Egyptian government believes China has great potential as a tourist market, Egyptian Ambassador to China Mahmoud Allam said in an interview with the Chian Daily website on July 23, 2009.

"I can see from the number of tour operators who establish offices in China that the potential of the market is great," he said. "That's why we established a tourist office in Beijing and that's why the national carrier, Egypt Air, now has a flights almost everyday either from Beijing or from Guangzhou, including a direct Beijing-Cairo flight."

Last year approximately 100,000 Chinese tourists visited Egypt, according to a May 2 Xinhua report.

Mr Allam also said that many Egyptians working in the tourism industry speak Chinese, and many hotels have special arrangements to accommodate Chinese tourists.

The China Tourist Office of the Egyptian Embassy announced four driving routes for Chinese tourists in Egypt earlier this month. They include a luxury trip for the whole of Egypt including the Sinai Peninsula, a popular route for all of Egypt including the Sahara, and a recreation trip combining self drive in Egypt and a luxury cruise on the Nile. The longest will take 18 days and the shortest will only take eight days, said Dr. Nasser Abdel-all, the Eyptian Embassy's tourism councilor.

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