Top Egyptian tourism officials promote 'New Egypt' in Kuwait

Middle Eastern travellers account for 20% of all visitors to Egypt with around 1.7 million inbound travellers - and many of them are Kuwaitis making the short flight over.

Kuwait is the GCC's second largest tourism market for Egypt after Saudi Arabia.

'Egypt has so much to offer to our long-time friend and neighbour Kuwait. For years the warmth of the Egyptian people and Egypt's rich culture has made Egypt a home-away-from-home for many Kuwaitis, and now the comfort, convenience, and services that our visitors require are available,' says H.E. Zoheir Garannah, Egypt's minister of tourism.

Visiting Kuwait City, the Egyptian minister of tourism teamed-up with Egyptian Embassy officials to shine light on the many new facets of Egyptian tourism and to hold meetings with tour operators, members of the media, and government officials.

Bolstering much of this growth is believed to be the many new initiatives Egypt has advanced recently. These new initiatives all specifically address the needs and requirements of Arab travellers.

Obstacles surrounding visas, property ownership and even public transportation have all been eliminated, fuelling increased interest in residential tourism offerings, new luxury resorts and recently introduced services.

To improve transportation, Egyptian investors have recently launched two metered taxi-cab companies providing a clean, comfortable and air-conditioned mode of transport utilising brand new vehicles.

Further encouraging this growth in Egyptian tourism is the new integrated-marketing campaign entitled 'Nawart Masr' (You Light Up Egypt!) which began last December and which is scheduled to return to the airwaves late this month.

The new integrated marketing campaign, expected to contribute to more than 30% growth among Middle Eastern holidaymakers visiting Egypt each year, puts Arab visitors at the centre of its appeal

It draws on Egypt's natural beauty, culture, entertainment, and food to remind Gulf, Levant, and North African Arabs why they fell in love with Egypt the first time they visited, while highlighting all that is new and exciting.

'The Nawart Masr campaign takes hold of the close and emotional relationship we share with our neighbouring Arab countries,' says Ahmed El Khadem, chairman of the Egyptian Tourist Authority.

'Egypt has always been a favourite holiday destination for Middle Easterners, and so it's important to reach out to our friends in the region and highlight the many positive developments Egypt now has to offer,' El Khadem further comments.

Egypt serves as a popular and easily accessible holiday destination for Kuwaitis, who revel in the common language and cultural similarities.

Complementing the cosmopolitan cultures of Cairo and Alexandria, are plenty of family-oriented entertainment, restaurants, splendid beaches and resorts.

Egyptian tourism continues to prosper from real estate development and properties can now be bought by foreign nationals at attractive prices.

The Egyptian delegation will wrap-up the week's activities in Kuwait City before continuing on to visit Qatar and Bahrain later in the month.