CAIRO - 1 August 2026: Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy, held Friday a series of professional meetings with several leading tourism companies and tour operators in the American market.
This took place during his current official visit to San Francisco, USA, to inaugurate the "Treasures of the Pharaohs" exhibition, its second international stop after Rome, Italy, and its first in the United States.
During the meetings, the Minister reviewed the Ministry's vision and strategy, which focuses on highlighting the unparalleled diversity of the Egyptian tourist destination and its wealth of diverse tourism products, styles, and experiences.
He pointed out that one of the most prominent and unique competitive advantages of the Egyptian destination is the ability to link and integrate multiple tourism products into a single program.
This allows for the creation of new tourism experiences and offers tourists the opportunity to move between diverse experiences and styles in a short time.
The Minister also noted the launch of the pilot operation of the new digital system for issuing visas upon arrival at Cairo International Airport, starting August 1st. This system will contribute to facilitating entry procedures for tourists and improving the visitor experience.
He also reviewed Egypt's 4 percent growth in tourist arrivals during the first half of this year, with arrivals from the US market increasing by 2 percent. He emphasized his aspiration to strengthen cooperation with American tour operators to achieve even higher growth rates in the coming period.
The Minister outlined some of the measures recently taken by the Ministry to address current regional circumstances, including adjustments to the aviation incentive program and the launch of the "Vibes of Egypt" initiative. This initiative features live video clips of tourists from various nationalities enjoying their holidays in Egypt. He noted that these videos were sent to numerous tour operators and had a significant impact on reassuring tourists in different markets.
It was agreed that the Egyptian Tourism Authority would make these promotional videos available to tourism companies and tour operators in the US market for use in their marketing campaigns for Egypt.
The Minister affirmed that the Ministry's current marketing messages focus on highlighting the unparalleled diversity of Egypt as a tourist destination and the authenticity of the tourist experience, while working to solidify Egypt's position as an attractive destination for luxury tourism. The Minister also reviewed the Ministry's efforts to regulate holiday homes and establish controls to improve the quality of services provided to tourists.
He presented the strategic plan for developing the area surrounding the Grand Egyptian Museum, the Giza Pyramids, and Sphinx International Airport. This plan includes the establishment of entertainment areas, hotels, resorts, and various investment projects.
The meetings also addressed ways to enhance cooperation in implementing joint marketing programs and organizing familiarization trips for tour operators to Egypt to explore its diverse tourism products and experiences, particularly luxury tourism.
Some companies also discussed opportunities for collaboration on implementing transit tourism programs in Egypt.
The meetings included discussions with several tourism companies and tour operators regarding the design and organization of new, specialized tourism programs for Egypt. These programs would target cycling enthusiasts and other adventure tourism enthusiasts, allowing them to experience the authenticity of Egypt as a tourist destination and discover its diverse natural attractions, in light of the increasing demand for this type of travel.
Several tour operators and travel agencies confirmed a growing demand for travel to Egypt, noting a surge in tourist bookings for 2027, particularly due to tourists' interest in witnessing the total solar eclipse, which will be visible from Luxor on August 2, 2027. They emphasized that bookings for the coming year have already surpassed those of the previous two years.
The meetings were attended by Dr. Hisham El-Leithy, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities; Dr. Sherif Abdel Gawad, Secretary-General of the Tourism and Antiquities Support Fund; Rana Gohar, Advisor to the Minister for Communication and External Relations and General Supervisor of the General Administration for International Relations and Agreements; and Wael Mansour, Head of the US and Canadian Markets at the Egyptian Tourism Authority.
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