Under the auspices of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), a meeting was held between the chairpersons of Banque du Caire, the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), and Banque Misr, along with Nader El-Beblawi, head of the Chamber of Tourism Companies; Eman Samy, head of the Religious Tourism Committee in Hurghada; and Eman Kandil, deputy minister of tourism for the supervision of tourism companies.

Attendees agreed to have the three banks secure Saudi riyals needed by tour operators to cover the expenses of the Umrah season during the Islamic months of Ragab, Sha’aban, and Ramadan—estimated at SR 700m. This aims to ease the burden on the companies as well as the travellers. The financing will be accessible to all companies through the chamber.

Moreover, banks expressed their willingness to secure SR 1,000 for each traveller, provided they present visa and ticket.

Another meeting will also be scheduled this month to agree on the mechanism for the Hajj season.