Egypt will launch the first direct commercial flights between the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh and the ancient Upper Egyptian city of Luxor later this week, Tourism Minister Khaled El-Anany has said.

The announcement came during a gathering on Saturday between the minister and the heads of over 100 tourism businesses operating in Luxor to discuss the challenges facing the sector in the governorate.

The minister announced that the prices of tickets for all archeological sites and museums in Luxor, Aswan and Qena will be discounted by 50 percent in July and August, in a move aimed at boosting tourism in the southern governorates during the summer season when traffic dwindles due to scorching hot weather.

The discount will be applied to the five-day Luxor pass which allows tourists to visit all archaeological sites in Luxor. It is available for sale in Cairo and Luxor.

Online ticket booking through mobile apps and websites is expected to be available soon to help tourists avoid ticket queues. Archaeological books and brochures are also planned to be up for sale online.

Egypt's central bank announced in December that it is increasing its financing EGP 50 billion from the current EGP 5 billion to help distressed tourism firms and investors.