The Tourism Development Authority (TDA) plans to attract 100,000 tourists from South Africa during the current fiscal year (FY) 2014/2015, according to an official from the authority.

The official, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that the Ministry of Tourism is in communication with EgyptAir to encourage travel from South Africa, while simultaneously providing incentives for foreign tourism companies.

According to the official, average spending by South African tourists reaches approximately $120 per night, making them the highest-spending tourists in Egypt.

The official added that the TDA’s plans are part of a strategy to target new tourism markets, besides the traditional European and Arabic Gulf ones, and hopes to take advantage of recent economic upturns in several countries in the last decade which resulted increased income for individuals.

The ministry targets to increase tourism income to $10.5bn for FY 2014/2015.

The official stated that the authority is also working to increase tourism from India, China, Brazil, and Argentina.

According to the official, most of the tourists from these target countries prefer cultural to historic tourism in Luxor, Aswan, and Cairo, and their average stay ranges between five to seven nights