An Irish tour operator will meet the Egyptian Tourism Minister in Cairo tomorrow to discuss how to increase Irish tourist traffic to that country in the wake of last year's massacres by Islamist militants.
The meeting has been encouraged by the Minister for Tourism, Dr McDaid, and has been assisted by his Department.
The Government is anxious to have the Egyptian ban on the import of live Irish cattle lifted, and is therefore understood to want to be seen as helping the Egyptians repair damage to their tourist industry.
Islamist militants killed 10 tourists in a gun and petrolbomb attack on a bus in Cairo in September. Fiftyseven people were killed in another attack near Luxor in November. Egypt's tourist industry has suffered severely as a result. Ms Gabrielle Kennedy of Michael Stein Travel leaves Ireland today to meet the Egyptian Minister, Dr Mamdouh el-Betagui, in Cairo. According to Ms Kennedy visitors to Egypt are "as safe as anywhere in the world". She added: "These Islamists do what they say they will do, and they have said they will not attack tourists any more."
Her company brought 1,200 Irish tourists to Egypt last year. Her discussions with Dr el-Betagui will focus on how to market Egypt better in Ireland as a tourist destination. A spokeswoman for the Department of Tourism confirmed yesterday that the Department had encouraged the meeting. Dr McDaid had been at a trade fair in London before Christmas and had seen the difficulties facing Egypt in encouraging tourism.
