Egypt’s tourism gets boost as historic Nile cruise set to return

Bikya Masr 

Sailing the Nile River in Egypt has always been a huge tourism boost for the country, but for the past 16 years, the an historic route on the river had been put on hold. Now, tour operators and the ministry of tourism are hopeful restarting the Cairo-Aswan cruises will help bring back tourists who have gone elsewhere as Egypt faces political, social and economic unrest.

“We really hope that this will increase people coming because it was a successful route in years past,” Alexandria-based tour operator Waleed Ghanem told Bikyamasr.com via telephone.

The ministry of tourism confirmed at the ITB Berlin Travel Expo that the historic route between Cairo and Aswan in Upper Egypt will be back on schedule, increasing hopes of a return to pre-uprising tour levels, which have dropped sharply in the past year as a result of the unrest in the country.