Egypt’s tourism minister greeted on Tuesday 520 tourists of 20 nationalities who are the first to take part in a tour recreating the trip taken by the Holy Family of Jesus Christ, state news agency MENA reported.

The group landed in the country on 24 May and visited the Church of Abu Serga (St. Sergius) in Cairo.

The tourists will also visit Saint Catherine's Monastery in Sinai to retrace the trail of Moses.

Earlier this month, Tourism Minister Yehia Rashed headed to Rome for talks with the Vatican's tourism officials to discuss promoting tourism to Egypt as the site of the journey of Jesus and the Holy Family.

The journey from Bethlehem through Egypt by the Holy Family – Joseph, the Virgin Mary and Jesus – took over three years.

Egyptian tourism, a main pillar of the country's economy and a key source of hard currency, has been hit hard by years of political turmoil since the 2011 revolution.

The Egyptian minister's trip to the Vatican came soon after Pope Francis' visit to Cairo last month, which has been described as "historic."

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