Japanese Tourist's Rate in Egypt Surges by 40%: Japan Amb.

Hassan El-Khawaga

Japan's Ambassador to Egypt Masaki Noke said that the number of Japanese tourists flocking to Egypt increased rapidly by 40% in the period from 2018 till the first three months of 2019, wishing this positive trend would continue.

In an interview with SEE, Noke noted that the number surged 75% from 2016 to 2017 and rose by 30% from 2017 to 2018.

In his opinion, the ambassador believed that the number of tourists depends on the flights between Cairo and Tokyo and its affordability, hoping more Egyptians to come and visit his country.

While answering a question about the procedures Egyptian government should take to boost the Japanese tourism, he stressed the importance of increasing the number of Egyptian direct flights to Japan, saying "they are limited."

"Increasing flights will make it easier for the Japanese to come to Egypt, which will surely positively impact on tourism here," the ambassador underscored.

He cited that his friends, who want to take off from Egypt to Japan, usually use foreign airlines because of the small number of Egyptian airlines between Egypt and Japan.

[caption id="attachment_46451" align="aligncenter" width="599"] Rania Al Mashat's Tour in Opet Temple with the Japanese ambassador[/caption]

How can your recent visit to Luxor boost tourism level?

It was my first visit to Luxor. Everything was completely new to me and I was very excited. I will post on my Facebook page, which has more than 90,000 fans; my visits to the new discoveries and archaeological sites to transfer the image for the Japanese community.

What are the best ways to evaluate the trade exchange between Cairo and Tokyo?

Firstly, let me say that the direct trade volume is not so high. It roughly reached one million dollars in 2017/2018. The Japanese companies, operating in Egypt, have lots of projects in different governorates.

I believe that Egypt has great potentials, topped by the 100-million dynamic population, a matter in which the Japanese firms find great opportunities and surely it will help the domestic market to grow.

[caption id="attachment_47207" align="aligncenter" width="347"] Noki and His Wife Noke and His Wife[/caption]

In the same time, the Japanese companies think about how to cope up with the Egyptian market. I think it is interesting and valuable to produce in Egypt in addition to making it an advantageous export center beside other candidates like Turkey, Morocco, and South East Asian countries.

Japan has 50 companies, operating in Egypt, and investments worth $170 million in 2017.

In terms of Egypt's chairmanship of the African Union, How could bilateral trade relations become stronger?

A. The Egyptian-Japanese priorities are now converging. Japan is not only interested in encouraging official development assistance but also in strengthening investment relations.

I think that the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), slated for August 28, will be a great occasion for the Egyptian companies to come to Japan in light of Japan's keenness on beefing up economic ties with Africa.

There are Japanese companies which may not be interested in Egypt but they are interested more in Africa and the presence of Egyptian firms in TICAD summit will make a difference.