Ankara, Cairo to boost tourism ties

ISTANBUL

Turkish, Egyptian tourism institutions agrees on a deal.

A partnership agreement has been signed between Egypt’s Federation of Tourism Chambers (EFTC) and the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TURSAB) in order to boost cooperation in the field of tourism and to promote Egypt and Turkey as key tourist destinations in the region, Elhamy El-Zayat, the head of the EFTC, announced on Feb. 11.

The agreement ensures special treatment for Turkish airlines as well as discounted rates to both Turkish and Egyptian destinations. It also aims to attract tourists from distant areas such as Latin America and the Far East, as reported by Ahram Online, an Egyptian news website.

Also, Egypt will be the country of the year in Turkey in 2014 to stimulate tourism in Egypt and cultural exchange between the two countries, El-Zayat said, adding Turkey would be the country in Egypt for the year 2015,” according to report. The number of Turkish tourists to Egypt has reached 53,000 in 2012. Turkey received almost 122,000 Egyptian tourists in the same year.