Riyadh – Mubasher: Egypt's minister of tourism Yehia Rashed announced that Saudi businessmen invested SAR 1 billion ($4.8 billion) in 17 existing and underway projects, according to a Saudi national newspaper on Tuesday.

Rashed expected tourism investments in Egypt to increase by 30% until the end of 2020, the newspaper reported.

Saudi nationals own six projects in the Red Sea are, two at the Gulf of Aqaba, three in Ain Sokhna, five in Ras Sedr, and one at the North Coast, Rashed said.

The minister indicated that there are more than 300 Saudi companies specialised in tourism investment currently operating in Egypt, and that some of the Saudi investors, in partnership with Egyptians, own more than 50 hotels in Cairo, Alexandria, and Sharm El Sheikh, in addition to restaurants, tourism offices, and malls.

He said that a new investment opportunity in the field of hotels construction will be launched for Saudi investors in partnership with Egyptian investors.

The Ministry of Tourism is determined to cooperate with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Egypt in order to provide the best service for Saudi investors and to prevent obstacles that face investors, tourists, and students alike, the minister ensured.

In June, the chairman of the Egyptian Tourism Authority said that the number of tourists in Egypt rose 51% in the first four months of 2017, compared to the corresponding period in the year before.