China's Travel Agent Magazine has granted the Egyptian tourism office in Beijing under Counselor Abul Maati el Shaarawi the 2015 award for promoting Egyptian tourism destinations in the Chinese market after winning the biggest number of votes from specialized Chinese travel magazines.

In statements to MENA correspondent in Beijing, Abul Maati, who is also the regional director of tourism offices in South Korean, Philippines and Vietnam, said the award crowns the marketing campaigns and promotion plans outlined by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism as well as the Tourism Promotion Authority represented in the tourism office in Beijing.

He said the plan of the office is to increase the number of Chinese tourists visiting Egypt to hit their 2010 record level, adding that this plan has already been successful as the number of Chinese tourists during the period from January to February reached 104,000.

Shaarawi also said the plan helped in increasing the demand on tourism movement to Egypt and consequently airlines have demanded the operation of direct flights from Beijing to Hurghada twice a week, as well as Shanghai/Hurghada during November and December.

He also voiced hope over launching an international tourism campaign as soon as possible in the markets of China, Korea and Philippine.

He pointed out that 2016 would be the Egyptian-Chinese cultural year to mark the 60th anniversary of establishing relations between the two countries, voicing hope that the visit of Chinese president to Egypt in early 2016 would have a great impact on the strategic partnership agreement signed during President Abdel Fattah El Sisi's visit to China in December.