The Egyptian government will launch a tourism development fund worth US$ one billion in June in a bid to revive the country’s ailing tourism industry. This announcement was made by Karim Helal, a financial advisor to Egyptian Federation of Tourist Chambers (EFTC), as reported by Zawya.
“The industry needs much more than US$ one billion. This is not a final solution to stalled tourism projects, but it will be a significant contribution, since we will mainly focus on existing companies that have debt problems. We will market the fund in the Gulf, starting with Saudi Arabia, then the UAE and Kuwait, because there is strong interest among investors there,” said Helal.
He said the fund would also be marketed inside Egypt to state-owned Egypt post, private investment funds and local banks. Egypt’s minister of tourism Hisham Zaazou had earlier said Egypt would contribute around US$ 4.2 million to the fund to encourage investors, and that seven financial institutions had expressed interest.
A committee has also been set up to list projects that have been halted or shut down in the Red Sea governorate, which boasts more than 255 hotels and spas. The EFTC estimates that Egypt has lost more than US$ 25 bn as a result of a slowdown in tourism activities during the past three years.
Comments are closed.