54th FIJET CONGRESS IN Egypt

Egypt hosted the 54th FIJET congress from September 28th to October 4th. One hundred and fifty delegates and guests from 22 countries participated in this big annual FIJET event. The newly renovated 5 star hotel "Sofitel al Jazeera" on an Island on the Nile wich is God's gift to Egypt, in the vicinity of the famous Attahrir Square, hosted the delegates during their stay in Cairo.The opening ceremony at the 5 Star "Four Seasons"

, was honored by the presence of his Excellency Hisham Zaazou, newly appointed Minister of Tourism, rich of 30 years Experience in the Tourism sector. In his welcome speech, he expressed his thanks to FIJET for its choice of Egypt to host the 54th congress. "This is a strong message to the whole world to support Tourism in Egypt" Mr. Zaazou said, adding that Egypt, as you have noticed, is absolutely safe for our guests: Tijani Haddad, FIJET's President, focussed on Tourism as vector of peace and tolerance. He expressed his thanks and regards to Mr. Hisham Zaazou, Minister of Tourism for being with us in the opening ceremony. He said "We use this opportunity to congratulate him on his appointment to this important mission, vital for the Egypt Economy. This country is full of history and famous for its cultural heritage, a legacy of prestigious civilizations. My thanks go to our colleague and friend Salah Attia and the Egyptian association of Travel Journalists and Writers for organizing in Egypt many FIIJET activities and for his efficient contributions in the promotion of his country. My thanks go as well to the ministry of tourism, to the Egyptian tourism professionals and Egyptian hotels for their support and the warm welcome during our first days in this country. Our congress held this week in your country is a message to the hole world that Tourism in Egypt is on the road to recovery and on the way back to its usual growth rate, as you have mentioned in your speech the other day in front of more than a thousand people gathered in Al Azhar park on the occasion of the world Tourism Day. One of our federation's objectives is to promote international Tourism without borders as vector of peace and of mutual understanding. Sustainable Tourism through the use of renewable energies and preserving our environment from natural or human pollution should be our main preoccupation.Our program was particularly rich and diversified : Visiting Alexandria with its rich cultural heritage, El Alamein which witnessed the biggest atrocity of the World War II leaving behind thousands of dead and wounded. We also had the chance to discover the beautiful and sandy Mediterranean beaches of Marsa Matrouh area with its Marinas and resorts. The delegates had the opportunity to plants trees from their different countries in Marsa Matrouh journalists village.