Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has launched the first edition of a yacht race in the Red Sea governorate.
Amr El-Qadi, CEO of the Egyptian General Authority for Tourism Activation, said holding the two-day race comes within the framework of the ministry’ efforts to promote yacht tourism, which attracts high spenders. The authority is planning to sponsor a series of yacht races, he added.
Khaled Sherif, assistant minister of tourism and antiquities for digital transformation, said 13 yachts are participating in the race, each led by a crew of no fewer than five sailors. He added that the race covers 10-12 nautical miles.
Emaar Misr inaugurated the first international yacht port “Marrasi Marina and Yacht Club” in Egypt’s North Coast area along the Mediterranean Sea.
The project is the company’s latest addition in the region to attract yacht tourism to Egypt.
"We are proud of the opening of the first international yacht port in Egypt’s North Coast. It will put the North Coast on the map of yachting tourism around the world,” Mohamed Alabbar, managing director of Emaar Properties, said.
The project employs more than 180,000 employees.
Alabbar said the project contributes to the creation of job opportunities in the yacht services sector.
He said it would attract more investments to “this wonderful region in northern Egypt.”
The project is in line with the Egyptian government’s development plans.
A national plan has been implemented to raise the efficiency of ports and marinas in Egypt as well as constructing new ports. Egypt is launching a digital platform to promote yacht tourism in the country, in a move aimed at facilitating procedures and the obtaining of security permits through a ‘single window’ instrument, head of Maritime Transport Sector Major General Reda Ismail said on Sunday.
The government decided to issue a single invoice that is valid throughout the country’s ports and marinas as part of a broader strategy to optimize yacht tourism in line with directives of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, a statement by the cabinet said.
Ismail’s announcement came during a meeting on Sunday that was headed by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and attended by the ministers of transport, tourism and communications and information technology.
Prime Minister Madbouly said the meeting discussed the strategy’s implementation plan in order to exploit yacht and ship tourism in Egypt, leveraging its long coasts and beaches along the Mediterranean and Red Seas.
This type of tourism represents a great added value for tourism in Egypt, especially with the country’s beaches extending on the Mediterranean and Red seas’ coasts, the statement said.
Egypt’s geographical position makes it advantageous for yacht tourism as it overlooks the Mediterranean Sea with a coastline of 995 km and the Red Sea with a coastline of 1,941 km in length as well as having the River Nile running across the country.
A national plan has been implemented to raise the efficiency of ports and marinas in Egypt as well as constructing new ports.
The premier emphasized the importance of simplifying procedures for the entry and exit of tourists in addition to studying procedures for yacht and ship tourism in competing countries in order to streamline the process of obtaining the necessary permits and security approvals.
Transport Minister Kamel El-Wazir said that the aim of the strategy is to lure yachts and tourist ships to frequent Egyptian marinas and ports by unifying the price policy and offering benefits and discounts in addition to raising the efficiency of current touristic ports and marinas.
The strategy includes the inception of new marinas in areas of touristic significance as well as a marketing plan to endorse yacht and ship tourism in Egypt, according to El-Wazir.
El-Wazir pointed out that a ministerial committee, consisting of the ministers of tourism, finance and communications as well as representatives from concerned authorities, is currently in session to update the maps for all marinas across the country.