New Tourism Deal: Improving Travel with Visa Payments in Egypt

Written by: Menna Hassan.

Sherif Fathi, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, received Malak Al-Baba, Vice President and Director of Visa Egypt, Libya, and Sudan, and Sherihan Bakhit, Director of Government Relations for the Northeast Africa and Arab East regions of the company, to discuss ways of cooperation and benefiting from the great expansion witnessed by Visa globally.

The Minister reviewed the unique diversity of the Egyptian tourist destination across tourism products, styles, and activities, stressing the importance of integrating tourism products to attract diverse segments of tourists and pointing out that the recent period has witnessed the emergence of new tourism experiences, which reflect the richness and diversity of tourism components that Egypt enjoys.

During the meeting, the general framework of the proposed cooperation was reviewed, in light of the wide international presence that Visa has, as it accounts for about 60% of payments worldwide, which provides promising opportunities to enhance the electronic payments system in the Egyptian tourism sector, and facilitate the tourist’s experience during the various stages of his trip within the Egyptian destination.

Representatives of the company expressed their interest in strengthening cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, and added that the Egyptian market is witnessing a remarkable growth in tourism activities and movement, in addition to its great diversity in tourism products and styles.

They also expressed their willingness to establish a strategic partnership that contributes to supporting the Egyptian tourist destination by developing innovative solutions for digital payments that cover various aspects of the tourist experience in Egypt.

At the conclusion of the meeting, it was agreed to hold intensive meetings between the work teams from both sides during the coming period, to develop an executive framework for cooperation, in a way that makes optimal use of the global expertise of Visa, and contributes to supporting the competitiveness of the Egyptian tourist destination at the international level.

The meeting was attended by Dr. Sherif Gamal Abdel Gawad, Secretary General of the Tourism and Antiquities Support Fund, Mustafa Balbaa, Director of Payment Acceptance at Visa, Rana Gohar, Advisor to the Minister for Communication and External Relations and General Supervisor of the General Administration of International Relations and Agreements in the Ministry, and Dr. Ahmed Nabil, Assistant to the Minister for Aviation and Follow-up.