Egypt unveils ‘ambitious’ plan to win back tourists within six months

Egypt’s Minister of Tourism has unveiled a six-point plan designed to win back tourists within six months.

But the plans make no reference to security concerns that have led to UK operators cancelling their Sharm el Sheikh programmes and scaling back their operations to Hurghada and other tourist hotspots.

Overseas visitor numbers to Egypt fell dramatically by 40% in the first four months of 2016, compared with two years ago.

Announcing the ‘6×6 Tourism Impact Plan’, His Excellency Yehia Rashed said he hoped it would ‘revive the fortunes of the critical tourism sector’.

"My one and only goal is to bring huge numbers of tourists back to Egypt," he said.

"To do this we need concerted action and partnership with Egyptian and international tourism stakeholders. The 6×6 Tourism Impact Plan is all about action that brings together the priority areas of Egyptian tourism, providing support and enhancements as we move forward."

The six themes are:

– Working with international tourism partners to restore success

– Working in partnership with Egypt’s national carrier, EgyptAir, to develop new destinations, and to support charter and low cost airline companies in bringing more tourists to Egypt

– Enhancing Egypt’s tourism infrastructure by supporting investors and innovating with new ideas

– Raising the bar by meetinh the highest international standards through upgraded product and service levels at tourist facilities

– Working to bring foreign direct investment to Egyptian tourism

– Developing the growing trend in Egyptian tourism of sustainable eco-friendly accommodation, transportation, and activities.

The Tourism Minister admitted the six-month time frame was ‘very ambitious’.

"But I am also ambitious for our tourism sector. I want to see positive action and for that action to have an immediate impact. 6×6 allows us to focus our energies on the most important elements," he said.

Egypt’s tourism has been severely hit since amid security fears.

The UK’s Department for Transport ordered UK airlines to cancel regular services to Sharm el Sheik last November after it was found that a bomb that brought down a Russian holiday jet in the Sinai had been smuggled on board at Sharm airport.

A group linked to Islamic State (IS) said it bombed the plane, which had just taken off from the airport.

Egypt insists it has since stepped up security at its airports and at its Red Sea resorts, with extra security staff, sniffer dogs, CCTV cameras and X-ray machines.

But the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not changed its advice.

Thomas Cook and Monarch Airlines have cancelled flights to Sharm for this summer.

EasyJet has also cancelled its flights to Sharm from Gatwick, Manchester and Luton for the summer, but is hoping to resume flights from Stansted as soon as the UK government says it is safe to do so.

Thomson has cancelled most flights to Sharm until the end of September, but it is hoping to relaunch weekly flights from Gatwick and Manchester on May 26 if it gets the government go-ahead.

BA flights to the resort have been cancelled until June 30.