Egypt seeks stronger tourism partnership with Türkiye

ANTALYA

Egypt seeks to be partners not competitors with Türkiye in tourism, as tourism operators see both countries as worthy destinations, according to an Egyptian official.

Mohamed Atta Elsherbeiny, international tourism chief with the Egyptian Tourism Authority, affiliated with the Tourism Ministry, told state-run Anadolu Agency that Türkiye and Egypt once competed against each other in tourism, but now they work in cooperation, especially after the pandemic.

Speaking at a tourism fair in the Turkish resort city of Antalya, Elsherbeiny said that airlines operating flights between Türkiye and Egypt play a big role in this cooperation, as some 100 weekly flights take place between the two countries.

He said tourists from various places fly to Egypt via Türkiye, as Türkiye is a flight hub, and tour operators benefit from this.

Elsherbeiny said tourism investors come to Egypt from Türkiye and that a well-known company in Türkiye has seven hotels in Egypt, with three more in the works.

As for visitors from Türkiye, he mentioned that last year Egypt hosted 180,000 Turkish guests.

Türkiye attracts more tourists in summer, while Egypt does in winter, with no overlapping seasons, he said.

Türkiye and Egypt need to no longer compete against each other and instead should continue and boost cooperation efforts, he added.

More than 187,000 tourists from Egypt visited Türkiye last year, down 18 percent from 2022.

In January-August 2024, tourist arrivals from Egypr surged 21.4 percent year-on-year to 146,000.