PM's Madbouli tackles steps to promote tourism in Egypt

CAIRO - 18 July 2022: Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli said on Monday the government exerts more efforts to increase the tourist inflow from various countries.

Madbouli was chairing the first meeting of the ministerial tourism committee in the presence of Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khaled El Anany, Higher Education and Scientific Research Minister and Acting Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Culture Minister Enas Abdel Dayem, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait, Environment Minister Yasmin Fouad, Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Manar, and Local Development Minister Mahmoud Sharawi as well as President of the Federation of Tourism Chambers Ahmed El Wasif.

Madbouli urged the bodies concerned with the tourism sector to develop a clear vision to double the number of tourists in line with clear steps and commitments according to a fixed schedule.

During the meeting, Anany tackled the outcomes of the national strategy for sustainable development for Egyptian tourism, saying all people are responsible for the tourism sector, not the ministry or a specific body alone.

The minister pointed to launching several promotion campaigns on various social media platforms, mentioning the scheduled launch of the new international promotional campaign in September in conjunction with the celebration of World Tourism Day and the 200th anniversary of the founding of Egyptology.

The minister revealed that a regulatory decision on taking photographs and shooting videos in public places nationwide is being studied and set to be submitted to the Cabinet to approve it.

He asserted the importance of implementing a new single-window system that is supposed to collect all fees for obtaining approvals from all concerned authorities with a commitment to granting permits within a specified period of time.

The regulatory decision divides photography into three categories; first taking photos of Egyptians and foreigners, which is allowed without prior permits or fees.

The second category is related to the foreign media and correspondents as the State Information Service is tasked with issuing the required licenses within 10 days and 15 days for the underwater and aerial photography requests along with implementing the one-window system.

The third category is related to television, film, and documentary productions.

He also mentioned that establishing a digital platform for granting cinematography licenses is being studied.