Madrid: Hassan El Khatib, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, held a meeting with Raºl Gonz¡lez, CEO of the Barcel³ Hotel Group, during his trip to Spain. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss possible investment opportunities in Egypt’s tourism and hotel industries.

According to State Information Service Egypt, the conversation centered on Barcel³’s interest in expanding its investments in popular Egyptian tourist destinations such as Cairo, Sharm El-Sheikh, Hurghada, and Marsa Alam. El Khatib noted that these conversations align with Egypt’s broader strategy to boost tourism, with the goal of attracting 30 million visitors. This ambitious goal requires a substantial increase in hotel capacity, aiming for around 230,000 hotel rooms, with a longer-term target of reaching 500,000 rooms.

The meeting also covered various investment opportunities within Egypt’s tourism sector, including those available through the Sovereign Wealth Fund, particularly in the hotel industry. El Khatib mentioned opportunities to convert historical and heritage buildings owned by several ministries in Cairo and Alexandria into tourist hotels, which could enhance Egypt’s tourism infrastructure. As part of the country’s efforts to stimulate private sector contribution to the economy and reduce state liabilities, the government placed several historical and heritage buildings under the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, including the Tahrir Complex.

The Minister further emphasized Egypt’s commitment to attracting major international hotel chains to contribute their expertise and investments to the development of the hotel sector. He also highlighted Barcel³’s ownership of travel agencies and airlines, emphasizing the importance of partnering with a company of such scale. In response, Gonz¡lez shared that Barcel³ Hotel Group, one of the global leaders in the hotel and travel sector with 66,000 hotel rooms under its management, is keen to expand its presence in Egypt. He mentioned that a delegation from the company is scheduled to visit Cairo to explore further investment opportunities. Barcel³ currently operates two hotels in Egypt and is in talks to acquire and participate in several new projects.