Most of the tourists who have arrived are from Italy and Poland, Governor Shoaib said in a statement.

Shoaib added that the number of charter flights arriving from Europe at Marsa Matrouh —  which is famous for its serene beaches, limpid clear sea and white sands —  since the start of the summer tourist season is 67, carrying 1,816 tourists.

Egypt, which counts on tourism revenues as a vital source of foreign currency, has announced plans to explore alternative tourism markets in light of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which began in February.

This comes as the war has dealt Egypt’s tourism sector a heavy blow with both Russian and Ukrainian markets being among the largest markets for tourism to Red Sea areas in Egypt.

Earlier, though the sector was also affected by the coronavirus pandemic, with the number of tourists reportedly dropping to 3.7 million in 2020 from 13 million in 2019, it had partially recovered, with the number of tourists rising to 8.2 million in the first nine months of the FY2021/22, according to Central Bank of Egypt's (CBE) data.