A plane carrying the 337 guests arrived at Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport from Ahmedabad Airport in India, Egyptian Tourism Promotion Board (ETPB) chairman Amr El-Qady told the show Cairo Talk on Al-Kahera Wal Nas TV channel on Tuesday.

After the wedding, the couple will remain in Egypt for their honeymoon and the guests will return on a pre-scheduled flight, he added.

Wedding tourism is not new for Egypt, said El-Qady, adding that in the past Arabs from different countries often had their weddings in Egypt, but the country has since fallen off the list of preferred wedding destinations.

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities is looking to bring back wedding tourism as a source of income for the country, especially since Egypt has previous experience in this regard, El-Qady said.

The ETPB contacted the Indian Event Management Welfare Federation-Global (EMF-Global) to coordinate with Indian wedding planning organisations, said El-Qady, adding that there is a class of Indian society who often host their weddings abroad for millions of dollars.

Egypt has so far hosted 49 wedding planning agencies to present the merits of the country as a destination for wedding tourism, El-Qady said, adding that this month’s Sharm El-Sheikh wedding is a result of these efforts.

El-Qady also said that Egypt’s Pharaoh's Golden Parade and the reopening of the Avenue of Sphinxes in 2021 gave EMF the confidence to begin business dealings with Egypt.