The official Egyptian tourism delegation – headed by Mrs. Ghada Shalaby, Vice Minister of Tourism and Antiquities for Tourism and with the participation of H.E. Mr. Amr Aljowaily – Egypt’s ambassador to Serbia – held a series of meetings with the concerned governmental parties within the framework of Egypt’s participation for the first time as a partner country (a guest of honor) in the 42nd session of Belgrade International Tourism Fair held during the period from 20 till 23 February 2020.
At the beginning of the visit, the delegation held a meeting with Mr. Rasim Ljajić, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications during which a number of positive developments in the bilateral relations within the tourism sector were discussed. This included the increase in the number of Serbian tourists visiting Egypt as their number doubled from 2017 till 2019, in addition to re-operating of direct flights heading to Cairo following a fifteen-year of suspension, and to Sharm Elsheikh and Hurghada following a six-year of suspension.
During the meeting, Vice Minister of Tourism and Antiquities for Tourism, Mrs. Ghada Shalaby, addressed the factors of tourist attraction in Egypt through promoting Egypt as an available tourist destination for the Serbian tourists any time throughout the year taking into consideration the appropriate climate, the geographical location.
and the good quality of the Egyptian product, in addition to promoting cultural tourism in Egypt for the coming up opening of Grand Egyptian Museum and the completion of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. Also, religious tourism, including reviving the path of the Holy Family, and the capabilities available for the bilateral cooperation in wellness tourism and spa tourism.
H.E. Mr.Amr Aljowaily- Egypt’s ambassador to Belgrade – addressed the importance of cooperation in the tourism sector specially for strengthening bilateral relations in general, along with making good use of bilateral memorandums of understanding to activate its terms in the fields of technical cooperation, which benefits both countries.
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications addressed – during the meeting – the ways of strengthening bilateral cooperation in the tourism sector especially in river tourism and floating hotels. He also assured the eagerness of Serbia to exchange tourists between both countries and the interest Serbia pays to support these campaigns through cooperation with Egyptian tour operators and mass media in Egypt to discover the best tourist destinations in Serbia that could be offered to the Egyptian tourist.
He also welcomed the invitation he received from Mrs. Ghada Shalaby, Vice Minister of Tourism and Antiquities for Tourism, to visit Egypt and he suggested working on an action plan to develop bilateral tourism relations between both countries.
State Secretary for Tourism at the Serbian Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, Miroslav Knežević, and Director of the National Tourism Organization of Serbia, Marija Labović, organized a business lunch in honor of the Egyptian delegation with participation of engineer Mohamed Elewa – representative of the Egyptian Ministry of Environment, where both parties discussed the development of bilateral cooperation in the tourism sector, especially eco-tourism.
The ways of cooperation in medical and wellness tourism within the framework of projects implemented and the suggested initiatives in both countrieswere also discussed.
It is worth noting that the Egyptian Vice Minister of Tourism and Antiquities for Tourism will participate in the official opening ceremony of Belgrade International Tourism Fair on the 20th of February, and will inaugurate the Egyptian stand later on in an official celebration in participation of the Mayor of Belgrade and a number of Serbian officials.