Fathy convened a meeting with key ministry officials and associated bodies shortly after his swearing-in ceremony The meeting also covered the completion of legislative infrastructure related to the tourism sector CAIRO: Egypt’s new Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy has unveiled a number of strategies to increase the number of hotel rooms in Egypt to accommodate an anticipated influx of tourists and enhance their experience. Fathy convened a meeting with key ministry officials and associated bodies shortly after his swearing-in ceremony. The agenda covered a number of efforts aimed at revitalizing Egypt’s tourism and antiquities sector, as well as possible challenges that could affect those efforts, Dr. Ahmed Fathy, a senior ministry official, told Arab News. The meeting also covered the completion of legislative infrastructure related to the tourism sector, advancements in yacht tourism, updates on the Grand Egyptian Museum, and improvements to the tourist experience in the Giza Pyramids area. Mohamed Amer, head of the Central Administration for Hotel Facilities, Shops, and Tourist Activities, highlighted recent expansion projects. He said nearly 3,000 hotel rooms have recently been added across 11 new hotels and expansions. Around 1,245 rooms have been added in Cairo, the Red Sea, South Sinai, and Luxor since the end of March, he noted, while plans are in place to launch an additional 25,000 rooms by the end of 2024, all of which is expected to boost tourism. Ghada Shalaby, deputy minister for tourism affairs, said there are currently about 5,000 hotel rooms in the country’s North Coast region, an amount Egypt hopes to double. Shalaby said the increase in hotel rooms nationwide is essential for realizing one of the “pillars of Egypt’s national strategy for tourism development.”