Tourism Minister Hesham Zaazou said 82 percent of the western media coverage and 92 percent of US media coverage is hostile to Egypt, adding that Germany banned its citizens from visiting Egypt, especially the Sinai peninsula.
In an interview on Al-Hayah TV channel on Monday, Zaazou said Germany relied on unreliable information that pressured it to ban its citizens from visiting Egypt. He indicated that 15 European countries warned against traveling to Sharm al-Sheikh and South Sinai due to terrorism in the region. He also added that the ministry is making huge efforts to convince those countries to lift their travel bans.
Zaazou added that the ministry is targeting Asian and Gulf tourists to encourage them to visit Egypt. He said that an agreement has been made with a production company to hold a conference across governorates to attract tourists.
"On 7 May, the first direct flight to New Delhi will also begin operating," he added.
Regarding the impact of the harassment of a British tourist in Sharm al-Sheikh on tourism, Zaazou said what happened had a bad effect on tourism, which already faces hardship. He added that he called on Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb to set legislation to criminalize harassment in order to confront the results of the tourist rape incident.
The ministry, according to Zaazou, will submit proposals on Thursday to Sekina Fouad, the presidential adviser, that would combat harassment.
"Amendments to criminalize harassment in Egypt will be issued in a week," he said, adding that the ministry is planning on launching a campaign to correct Egypt's image in the west as well as other tourist-sending countries.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
