Thriving tourism draws world recognition

The current Egyptian tourism boom is unprecedented, many observers say. They attribute the tourist influx into Egypt every year to the ambitious tourism promotion implemented by Minister Dr. Mamdah El Beltagui.

Beltagui’s plan seeks to open up new markets in southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America while at the same time preserving the traditional markets in Europe, North America and the Arab countries.

The unrelenting efforts by the Egyptian official have gained international recognition. The famous American travel agent magazine last January picked Dr. Beltagui as its Middle East tourism man of the year in 1996.

The magazine's editor in chief, Carl Ruderman, is expected to visit Egypt to hand Dr. Beltagui the award. To mark the occasion, the tourism minister will hold a reception at the Cairo International Conference Center in Nasr City on Monday, July 21 at 1 p.m.