3.5 million tourists visited Egypt last year

Egyptian Minister of Tourism Mamdouh El-Beltagi announced that 3.5 million tourists have visited Egypt during 1998.

In press statements yesterday, the minister said the tourists spent 20 million tourist nights.

He also confirmed the continuous increase of tourists demand to visit Egypt during the first quarter of current year and the probability that the rate of tourist flow this year would reach the same rate as before Luxor attack 1997.

El-Beltagi added that the private sector is currently bearing the burden of the cost of projects for constructing new hotels and tourist resorts, especially outside the Nile valley.

He also said the private sector will take part in establishing 130,000 hotel rooms by 2002.