CAIRO: Khaled El-Anany, Egypt’s minister of tourism and antiquities, has held talks with Gareth Bailey, the British ambassador in Cairo, on ways to enhance cooperation between the 2 nations within the fields of tourism and antiquities.
The talks follow Egypt’s removal from the UK’s travel “red list,” easing travel restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. El-Anany reviewed the efforts Egypt is making to adopt new tourism activities such as adventure tourism, in addition to integrating beach and leisure tourism with cultural tourism into one product.
This would be done through several elements, including linking the Nile Valley sites of Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbel with coastal resorts such as Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada through the development of domestic airlines.
He stated that this would increase the competitive advantage of Egypt as a tourism destination and create an integrated and distinctive tourism product for the first time that combines entertainment, beaches and Egyptian history.
The 2 sides mentioned the possibility of signing a joint memorandum of understanding on recovering stolen and illegally smuggled antiquities.
The minister also briefed the British ambassador on preparations for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb.
