Vietnam, Egypt eye stronger tourism cooperation
Vietnam and Egypt have yet to fully tap their potential for tourism cooperation and make it match their bilateral ties, Vietnamese Ambassador to Egypt Tran Thanh Cong has said.
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Speaking at a workshop in Cairo on June 27, the diplomat said only about 900 Egyptians visited Vietnam last year while the number of Vietnamese tourists to the African country was around 1,300.
These figures remain low as compared with their tourism cooperation potential, he said, blaming the lack of tourism information for the situation.
Cong told Vietnam News Agency (VNA) correspondents that Egypt is working hard to improve its tourism infrastructure, aiming to attract more international holiday-makers, including those from Vietnam.
Egyptian Deputy Minister of Tourism Emad Hasan suggested Vietnam and Egypt pay attention to such issues as tourism development structure, institutions and regulations, infrastructure and promotion activities via the social network.
The two countries should optimise their fruitful relations to promote collaboration in economy and tourism in particular, he said.
Vietnam’s Commercial Counsellor Pham The Cuong pointed out that the geographic distance and no direct flights are major challenges to the bilateral tourism cooperation.
Besides, tourism promotion activities between the two countries remain limited, he added, suggesting the two sides push ahead with tourism cooperation programmes, diversify their tourism products and enhance connectivity between their travel agencies.
Mohamed Farouk from the Egyptian Travel Agents Association told VNA correspondents that Vietnam and Egypt should consider opening a direct air route and increasing flights between the two countries.