RIYADH: In a bid to further develop the country’s tourism sector, the Egyptian government is set to launch an initiative where it will bear 11 percent of the total cost of new rooms. Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa noted that the move would be financed by the Ministry of Finance through the general budget. He revealed this while serving as chair of the permanent committee for licensing hotels and other lodging facilities, Asharq News reported on Monday. During the meeting, the minister lauded the efforts made by the private sector and relevant organizations to realize Egypt’s objectives for the tourism industry during the first half of 2023. According to Issa, up to 7 million tourists visited Egypt in the first half of this year. The North African country also received a record-breaking 1.35 million tourists in April. During a symposium in March this year, Issa said he hoped the promising rise in tourists in 2023 will translate into a 30 percent increase by the year-end, bringing the total to 15 million. He further added that the Egyptian government had developed a new national tourism strategy and hoped tourist numbers would double to 30 million by 2028. More effective collaboration is being sought with the private sector and 3,000 operators in the industry that are aligned to five tourism chambers and the Egyptian Tourism Federation. According to data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, the number of tourists visiting Egypt increased by 85.4 percent to 4.9 million in the first half of 2022, compared to 2.6 million over the same period in 2021. The government took a number of measures to boost the recovery of the tourism industry after the pandemic and the Ukraine war. In January, Cairo relaxed visa requirements for visitors from China, Iran, India, Turkey, Morocco and Algeria while allowing 180 nationalities to obtain tourist visas upon arrival. Additionally, Egypt launched an online platform to regulate yacht trips into the country for the first time in September.