Egypt sets out US$20b tourism growth plan

Sharm El-Sheikh

EGYPT hopes to generate US$20 billion in revenue from tourism by 2020 by attracting 20 million visitors, new tourism minister Khaled Ramy said on Sunday at an international investment conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.

An uprising that toppled leader Hosni Mubarak four years ago hit the economy hard, discouraging investors and tourists and slashing economic growth. Egypt hopes the conference will project an image of stability and help attract billions of dollars.

Mr Ramy told Reuters that goal was part of strategic plans that include creating two new resorts through nearly US$1 billion of investment over five years and hiring a private company to run a three-year advertising campaign. He said he wanted to counteract the negative news of the last few years which has hampered tourism, a major source of revenue and foreign reserves for Egypt…