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UNWTO chief says Egypt is worldwide leader in tourism

Xinhua, November 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Taleb Rifai said Monday that Egypt is a worldwide leader in tourism and will continue to be so.

His comments came during the inauguration of the 104th meeting of the Executive Council of the UNWTO which is being held in Upper Egypt's city of Luxor, which was named earlier this year by UNWTO as the "World Tourism Capital" for 2016.

The event comes as Egypt struggles to revive its ailing tourism sector which has been suffering recession over the past few years due to political turmoil and relevant security issues.

"The high level of attendance at this meeting is a confirmation of the confidence of the international tourism community in Egypt," Rifai told the meeting.

Some 170 representatives from 40 countries attended the meeting, including 11 tourism officials from Argentina, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Costa Rica, Egypt, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Serbia, Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The two-day meeting will discuss three priorities of the organization for 2016-2017: safe, secure and seamless travel, the impact of technology in the tourism sector and sustainability. Endit