Tourism: Up to 12.8 million tourists visited Egypt in 2008

Egypt State Information Service

Tourism Minister Zoheir Garana said on 13/1/2009 during a press conference that the Egyptian tourism sector achieved impressive revenues last year.

He said the number of tourists who visited Egypt in 2008 reached 12.8 million compared to 11.2 million in 2007.

"Egypt occupies the 23rd position among 50 best international tourist hubs and ranks as the number one tourist destination in north Africa," he said.

He named Russia, Germany, Italy, Britain, Poland, Ukraine, Libya, France, Saudi Arabia and the United States as Egypt's most important tourist markets.

Garana said his ministry was coordinating with the Ministry of Civil Aviation to encourage more low-cost and charter flights to Egypt.

Garana noted that the Tourism Ministry started dealing with the international financial crisis since September, noting that those working in the tourism sector were fearing job cuts in view of the economic slowdown.

A budget of 40 million dollars is allocated to promoting the tourism sector which brings the country about 11 billion dollars in revenues, he said.