Day: January 9, 2023

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CGTN: Revival in China’s domestic and outbound tourism expected after COVID policy shift

BEIJING, Jan. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — China removed certain COVID-19 restrictions on international passenger flights on Sunday, with domestic and international tourism expected to pick up steam as the Spring Festival holiday approaches.

Measures will be taken to ensure that freight at various ports will return to pre-epidemic levels as soon as possible and that outbound tourism for Chinese citizens will be resumed in an orderly manner, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

The optimized policies and measures include the resumption of accepting and approving Chinese citizens’ applications for ordinary passports for tourism purposes and visiting friends abroad.

China also optimized its regulations on travel between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao, according to a statement of the State Council Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office. International travelers will be able to enter the mainland via Hong Kong and Macao, and restrictions on the passenger load factor for flights between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao will be lifted, according to the document.

According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Monday, China saw about 52.7 million domestic tourist visits during the previous three-day New Year holiday, up 0.44 percent year on year.

The tourism revenue generated over the holiday exceeded 26.5 billion yuan (about $3.8 billion), up 4 percent from the same period last year, according to the ministry.

“The national culture and tourism market is generally safe, smooth and orderly,” the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said.

Short-distance tours are trendy among travelers during the holiday period, with sustained popularity for ice and snow activities and camping among young people, according to the ministry. The data also shows a steady recovery in the country’s medium- and long-distance travel, with some online travel agencies reporting a significant increase in ticket bookings for cross-provincial and cross-border tourism over the holiday.

Given the significant number of potential Chinese tourists, the recovery of China’s outbound travel is expected to play a vital role in the rebound of both domestic and global tourism markets.

Within half an hour of the reopening policy announcement, searches for overseas destinations shot up by 1,000 percent, hitting a three-year high, according to Chinese online travel agency Ctrip.

Other Asian countries are among the first ones to benefit from this wave of outbound travel. Data from Trip.com Group showed that the number of orders for outbound flight tickets sold soared 254 percent on the morning of December 27, compared with the same time a day earlier. Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Thailand were among Chinese tourists’ most popular destinations.

As China’s policy of optimizing regulations on travel continues to generate strong interest globally, tourism authorities in several countries, including Thailand, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Denmark, have posted on Weibo since December 27, inviting Chinese tourists to visit.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2023-01-08/Revival-in-China-s-tourism-industry-expected-after-COVID-policy-shift-1gpXuxx1Cak/index.html

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WB: Egypt’s economic reforms helpful in overcoming int’l crisis

The World Bank stressed that the economic reforms carried out by Egypt will help overcome the effects of the current international crisis.

The World Bank said “Macroeconomic and structural reforms undertaken by Egypt to start addressing entrenched economic and social problems are supporting the country in navigating the current difficult landscape.

Reforms since 2014 to ease macroeconomic imbalances, enhance the performance of the energy sector, and mobilize financing enabled the country to enter the successive crises with relatively improved fiscal accounts and ample foreign reserves. Important institutional reforms were undertaken to improve the business environment, including on the trade facilitation and the business exit/restructuring fronts.”

Further, steps were taken toward increasing private sector participation and private capital mobilization in certain sectors (such as Solid Waste Management), and the government has announced plans to begin reforming the role of the State in the

economy, as part of the efforts to boost private sector activity and job creation.

In tandem, social protection and human development initiatives providing targeted support, such as the Takaful and Karama cash transfer programs, are now being scaled up gradually to partially shield the most vulnerable groups from the impact of rising prices.

This came as the cabinet information center reviewed the World Bank report issued in December 2022 under the title “Egypt Economic Monitor, Fall 2022: Strengthening Resilience through Fiscal and Education Sectors Reforms.”

Amidst precarious global economic conditions, Egypt —among many emerging markets— is facing headwinds that are aggravating pressures on external and fiscal accounts, the bank’s report said.

For Egypt, these global headwinds are translating into higher domestic prices, and pressures on the budget. The Russia-Ukraine conflict also triggered abrupt and large-scale portfolio investment outflows, it added.

Thus, following the strong rebound of 6.6 percent in FY2021/22, growth is expected to slow down to 4.5 percent in FY2022/23, before starting to inch up thereafter.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

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Sharm El Sheikh airport receives 1st flight from India

Sharm El Sheikh International Airport on Monday received the first flight from Ahmedabad International Airport, said a source from the Egyptian airport.

Operated by a private airliner, the flight arrived at 16:00 CLT with 337 Indian passengers on board for a wedding party.

Upon arrival, the plane was received by director of the airport Nabil Al Mallah, the director of the travel agency concerned, and the head of the restaurant that will host to the wedding party.

The flight is a first step to introduce this new type of tourism, namely “wedding tourism” in Sharm El Sheikh, the travel agency said, noting the three-day wedding party will take place at one of the top tourist resorts in the iconic Red Sea resort city.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

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Damietta Port receives biggest wheat shipment since inauguration

Damietta Port received Monday the biggest wheat shipment since its inauguration in 1986.

The port received the bulk carrier “SABAEK” flying the flag of Panama and coming from Russia with 96,200 tons of wheat on board.

This came as part of directives issued by Transport Minister Kamel el Wazir to increase the port’s readiness to the maximum degree in order to receive giant cargo ships.

The move also came as part of the State’s unremitting efforts to secure a strategic stockpile of wheat.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

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Shoukry asserts Egypt’s full support to Somalia in combatting terrorism

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry asserted Egypt’s full support to Somalia in its efforts to combat terrorism and drought effects, reiterating Cairo’s resolve to enhance cooperation between the two countries in light of their historic ties.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid on Twitter said that Shoukry’s remarks were made during his meeting with his Somali counterpart Abshir Omar Jama.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

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SCA rescue team dealt professionally with Glory ship malfunction, says chief

Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Chief Osama Rabie said Monday that the authority’s naval rescue team has dealt professionally with the sudden malfunction of engines in cargo vessel Glory near kilometer 38 at the canal’s course, noting that dredgers are currently deployed to help it sail to Sign 51 in the canal.

In a statement, Rabie asserted that navigation movement at the canal is operating normally as 26 ships crossed the canal as part of the south convoy, while the north convoy will resume navigation after the ship is moved.

Glory will continue its journey for China after receiving help from the SCA dredgers, he explained.

Rabie made it clear that SCA has all the necessary rescue expertise to secure the navigation course and deal with any emergencies.

He added that four dredgers, topped by Port Said dredger with a working capacity of 95 tons, have been deployed to swiftly move the malfunctioned ship to Al Balah bypass to be repaired.

Glory measures 224 meters in length and 32 meters in width with a carrying capacity of 41,000 tons.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

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Reviving school theater initiative aims to discovering talents

Education Ministry Spokesman Shadi Zalata said the initiative for reviving the school theater is meant to discover talents and sponsor them.

The initiative is implemented in tandem with the Culture Ministry, Madrasetna channel and the United Media Services (UMS).

In statements to MENA, Zalata said the ministry seeks to develop sports, artistic and cultural school activities to build the cultural and intellectual aspects of the students’ character.

He highlighted the fruitful cooperation with the Culture Ministry which will help promising talents to have a chance to perform on national theaters.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

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Heavy rains pour over Alex, navigation movement normal

Alexandria and the North Coast were hit by moderate to heavy rains and strong winds, blocking streets and main squares, while navigation movement continued normally.

In statements on Monday, Alexandria Governor Mohamed El Sherif said the governorate’s operation room is working round the clock to receive any complaints on accumulated water, affirming that the state of emergency was raised to and all necessary preparations were made for removing the accumulated rain water to ensure easy traffic.

Meanwhile, Spokesperson of Alexandria Governor Ahmed Berqaa said shipping and loading operations at the harbor went on normally and regularly.

Also, Alexandria Harbor Head Nehad Shaheen ordered the naval services at the harbor to be on high alert to receive any distress signals from ships in order to maintain safety of souls and property along with sustaining normal navigation movement.

The Alexandria Security Directorate reinforced the traffic services to ensure easy traffic flow

Source: State Information Service Egypt