Cairo ( AsiaNews / Angezie ) - Beijing is becoming one of the major tourism partners in Egypt, with more than 67 thousand visitors in 2012 alone , according to the World Tourism Organisation . Compared to Western countries that have placed Egypt on the list of countries at 'high risk' , China has lifted the travel ban on Cairo in September.
On January 1 Nasser Abdelal , a consultant for Asia of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism welcomed the delegation of the leaders of the most important Chinese tourist agencies who arrived in the country to kick off a collaboration aimed at increasing incentives in the industry and ensure the safety foreign visitors . Abdelal states that the attacks and cases of violence in recent months have taken place at the local level and there were never any danger to foreign tourists.
The tourism sector accounts for 11.3 % of the GDP of Egypt , and for years has employed nearly 3 million people. The collaboration with Beijing in the future could allow new investments in the sector that has declined steadily since 2011. According to data of the World Trade Organization, every year tourists to Egypt fell by 20%