2Mn Tourists Came Via Turkish Agencies İn 2013: Egypt

Egyptian Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou on Tuesday said Turkish travel agencies had brought some two million European tourists to Egypt last year.



"We welcome all Turkish investors in Egypt. There is no relationship between Turkish investment [in Egypt] and the current political tension between the two countries," Zaazou told a Tuesday press conference in Cairo.



The remarks came after a number of Egyptian businessmen in the tourism sector urged Egyptian travel agencies to cancel tour packages from Egypt to Turkey in response to recent criticisms of the Egyptian authorities by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.



Zaazou, however, praised the "successful" efforts of Turkish travel agencies in luring tourists from several European countries – topped by Russia – to Egypt.



"There's a big difference between tourism and politics," the minister stressed.



Relations between Egypt and Turkey have nosedived since Egypt's military ousted elected president Mohamed Morsi in July of last year.



Tension between the two countries peaked last November, when Egypt declared the Turkish ambassador in Cairo "persona non grata" – a move to which Turkey quickly responded in kind.



Addressing the U.N. General Assembly last week in New York, Erdogan again lashed out at the Egyptian regime, accusing the international community of lending legitimacy to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi – who is widely seen as the architect of Morsi's ouster last year.



Egypt's Foreign Ministry replied by asserting that Erdogan's address contained "lies" and disregarded the "will of the Egyptian people."



Yet despite the political tension, 30,125 Egyptians visited Turkey between January and April, compared to 37,299 who visited the country in the same period last year, according to Turkey's Tourism Ministry.



The ministry added that some 10,600 Turkish tourists had visited Egypt between January and April this year, compared with 25,289 who visited in the same period last year.



Trade exchanges between Egypt and Turkey, meanwhile, reached a total of $5 billion last year, including $3.5 billion of Turkish exports to Egypt, according to Egypt's Trade Ministry.



Around 418 Turkish companies currently operate in Egypt, especially in the textiles, food and petrochemical sectors.



By Reda Ismail



englishnews@aa.com.tr



www.aa.com.tr/en - Kahire