An initiative to promote the role of tourism as a driving force for economic and social development in cities is to be unveiled by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.
The UNWTO’s executive council is to meet in Luxor together with the fifth annual global summit on city tourism on Sunday and Monday.
The conference will include several workshops to exchange experiences in the field of tourism and propose ways to support and develop tourism in Luxor.
The UNWTO executive council announced the selection of Luxor city to host the conference as the 2016 capital of world tourism in a bid to restore interest the destination which has suffered from the various recent events in Egypt.
The country’s tourism minister Yehia Rashed said: “It is vital to promote Egypt through hosting these events that send several positive messages about the image of Egyptian tourist attractions, especially in terms of safety and security that Egypt possesses as well as its ability to organise and host major events.”
He added: “The tourism ministry and tourism sector are keen on exerting continuous efforts to take advantage of such events, in order to highlight the tourist attractions of this historical city and reignite the tourism traffic especially in Luxor and Aswan.”
Rashed added that there has been ongoing stream of support from the government towards the restoration of tourism traffic in Egypt.
The global summit will debate the tourism trends in Luxor including sustainable development, innovation in the field of city tourism, and cross-cultural behaviour.
The meeting will also discuss how the public and private sectors can contribute in tourism development, cultural exchange between nations, identity and the preservation of cultural heritage.