Egypt, according to forecasts, in 2021 will be visited by about 8 million foreign tourists, of which about 1.5 million are Ukrainians, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt Ayman Ahmed Mokhtar Elgammal told Interfax-Ukraine in an exclusive interview.
“Basically, Ukrainians choose Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada, beach hotels, from where they go for a maximum one-day educational trip – to see the pyramids and the main attractions of Cairo,” he said.
According to the ambassador, other tourist products are actively offered to Ukrainians.
“We offer to visit a variety of historical attractions, four-day cruises on the Nile from Luxor to Aswan, new areas for water sports, windsurfing. In addition, in the west of the desert there are unique mineral waters and salt lakes, useful for recovery. This year, Ukrainians began to convert attention to such attractions,” the diplomat said.
Elgammal also noted the growing demand for a longer stay of Ukrainians in Egypt. “Egypt is an excellent offer for Ukrainian employees working ‘remotely’: the weather is good all year round, it is close and easy to get to. And we stimulate such tourists: we provide a 20% discount on accommodation for a long period of time, 20 days or more,” he said.
The ambassador named some of the partnership programs to attract new Ukrainian tourists. “We have already launched joint campaigns with tour operators, which run until October 2021. We also have a flight incentive program for airlines, which includes visa facilitation, 50% discount on landing fees, accommodation, and 20% discount on ground handling fees. In addition, we have reduced fuel prices by $0.15 per gallon until the end of 2021,” said Elgammal.
