The Egyptian Travel Agents Association (ETAA) has held talks with a senior delegation from the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) to explore opportunities to expand tourism cooperation, develop joint tourism programmes and promote investment between Egypt and Uganda.
Nader El-Beblawi, Chairperson of the ETAA, said the meeting focused on developing practical areas of cooperation between the two countries’ tourism and hospitality sectors, including joint tourism programmes, investment opportunities and mechanisms to increase tourist flows.
The discussions also examined the potential to develop integrated tourism packages targeting long-haul markets, particularly the Far East, Australia, and North and South America.
The proposed programmes would combine the diverse tourism offerings of Egypt and Uganda into multi-destination itineraries.
El-Beblawi said Egypt has a strong interest in expanding cooperation with African countries, particularly Nile Basin states, stressing the ETAA’s support for efforts to deepen tourism ties with Uganda.
He highlighted Uganda’s diverse tourism resources, including lakes, forests, wildlife, safari and adventure tourism, as well as its location along the Nile.
He also pointed to the relatively short travel time between Egypt and Uganda, which could help facilitate tourism exchanges and create opportunities for closer cooperation between companies in both markets.
“We have an opportunity to build a strong partnership and offer the world a distinctive Egyptian-Ugandan tourism product,” El-Beblawi said, emphasising the need to translate the discussions into concrete cooperation initiatives that benefit both sides.
As part of the discussions, the two sides agreed to organise a series of joint workshops in Egypt and Uganda, with the support of the ETAA and the Uganda Tourism Board.
Karim El-Menbawy, Chairperson of the ETAA Foreign Tourism Committee, said the diversity of tourism assets in Egypt and Uganda creates significant potential for developing distinctive tourism programmes and reaching new international source markets.
“The diversity of Egypt and Uganda’s tourism assets creates opportunities to develop rich, world-class tourism programmes,” El-Menbawy said, adding that Egyptian tourism companies are prepared to explore the proposed areas of cooperation.
The Ugandan delegation praised Egypt’s tourism experience and expressed interest in benefiting from Egyptian expertise across various tourism and hospitality activities.
The delegation described Egypt as Africa’s leading tourism destination and highlighted the potential benefits of stronger cooperation between the two countries, particularly in supporting the development of Uganda’s tourism sector.
The delegation also emphasised that the visit reflects the longstanding relations between Egypt and Uganda at the political, governmental and people-to-people levels, expressing hope that the discussions would lead to effective and sustainable tourism cooperation.
The Ugandan side further indicated that additional delegations are expected to visit Egypt in the coming period to explore further opportunities for cooperation.
Nancy Abdel Hady, Uganda’s Goodwill Ambassador to Egypt and Executive Director of the African Tourism Authority, said the delegation included senior government officials and leading Ugandan investors, including major investors in the hotel sector.
She said the visit aimed to provide the Ugandan delegation with first-hand exposure to Egypt’s tourism experience and allow its members to explore successful tourism models that could offer opportunities for cooperation.
