For the Islamist-ruled Egypt when it comes to money: "Booze and bikinis are welcome in Egypt, says tourism minister"

[rick murphy]

For the Islamist-ruled Egypt when it comes to money: "Booze and
bikinis are welcome in Egypt, says tourism minister"


http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/booze-and-bikinis-are-welcome-in-egypt-says-tourism-minister.aspx?pageID=238&nID=46297&NewsCatID=379

May 5 2013,

Booze and bikinis are welcome in Egypt, says tourism minister

DUBAI - Reuters

Picture: A picture dated on October 11, 2004 shows empty bungalows in
an empty beach resort on the Red Sea coastal strip in Egypt's Sinai
Peninsula. AFP Photo

Islamist-ruled Egypt is open to visitors who drink alcohol and wear
bikinis as it sets out to boost numbers by at least a fifth this year,
the tourism minister said on Sunday.

Tourism is a pillar of the Egyptian economy but has suffered since a
popular uprising toppled President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and set off
two years of periodic rioting and instability.

The minister, Hisham Zaazou, said the government had "optimistic
goals" for the sector, and played down comments from radical Salafi
Muslim groups who have called for a ban on alcohol and women wearing
swimsuits.

"Bikinis are welcome in Egypt and booze is still being served,"
Zaazou, speaking in English, told a news conference during a visit to
the United Arab Emirates.

"We had talks with these Salafi groups and now they understand the
importance of the tourism sector, but still you have some individuals
that are not from the leadership saying these things," added the
minister, an independent who is not a member of the ruling Muslim
Brotherhood.

Islamist President Mohamed Mursi's government increased taxes on
alcohol in December but backed down after the move was criticized by
the tourism sector and by liberals.

Decline and rebound

Before the uprising, tourism was worth more than a tenth of Egypt's
economic output. In 2010, 14.7 million visitors came, generating $12.5
billion in earnings, but arrivals slowed to 9.8 million the following
year and income to $8.8 billion.

According to Zaazou, 2012 saw a recovery as 11.5 million tourists came
and revenues rebounded to about $10 billion. In the first quarter of
2013 about 3 million tourists visited, a 14.6 percent rise from the
same period last year, he said.

Egypt's long term target was to reach 30 million tourists and revenues
of $25 billion by 2022.

Zaazou said rebuilding tourism was a national priority. To help meet
the goal of increasing visitor numbers by 20 percent this year, his
ministry has installed cameras in major resorts which feed live video
onto its website.

"We want to show people that Egypt is safe, and the best way to show
this is by live streaming. The next step will be to have these images
shown on big screens in public squares in Paris or New York."

Seeking a way into new markets, Egypt tried to open its doors to
Iranian tourists this year after 34 years of frozen diplomatic
relations. But the move ran into protests from hardline Sunni
Islamists in Cairo who accused Iran of trying to spread the Shi'ite
faith, leading to the halting of all commercial flights from Iran in
April.

"This is just a temporary halt, tourism will resume again and we are
currently in talks with these groups who objected," said Zaazou, who
said he hoped the issue would be resolved within two weeks.

May/05/2013