Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly issued directives to tourism officials to expedite the completion of the plan of the Tourism Development Authority (TDA) to develop the tourism sector in order for the Supreme Council for Planning and Urban Development (SCPUD)  to review it at its upcoming meeting.

The prime minister's directives came during a meeting held on Friday to review the TDA's plan, which was chaired by Madbouly in the presence of Minister of Tourism Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities Assem El-Gazzar, and the Head of the TDA Serag El-Din Saad.

The TDA's plan, which is part of Egypt's Sustainable Development Strategy: 2030 Vision, aims to optimize use of Egypt's economic and social resources, Al-Mashat said.

Al-Mashat added that the plan also aims to maximize the role of Egypt's private sector in the development process, confining the state's role in the process to planning for developing desert regions and promoting investment in tourism. 

Since 2018, Egypt has been implementing a reform programme in the tourism sector, which focuses on developing the sector's infrastructure and raising labour efficiency through technical and professional training.

The reform programme has reflected positively on increasing hard currency revenues to the national economy. 

Egypt reported that revenues from tourism in the fiscal year 2018/19 reached $12.6 billion, a 28 percent rise on the previous year.