Booze And Bikinis 'Welcome' In Egypt, Says Tourism Minister

Tourists who drink alcohol and wear bikinis are welcome in Egypt, according to the Islamist-ruled nation's tourism minister. During a news conference on Sunday while visiting the United Arab Emirates, the minister, Hisham Zaazou, told the press, "bikinis are welcome in Egypt and booze is still being served."

The political maneuver coincides with Egypt's effort to boost its tourism by 20 percent this year. Formerly worth more than a tenth of Egypt's economic output, earnings in tourism fell nearly 30 percent in the wake of a popular uprising that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Since then, Egypt's dominant political party, the Muslim Brotherhood, has made unsuccessful attempts to curtail what it deems risqué behavior. In December, the government increased taxes on alcohol, but backed down after tourist officials and liberals criticized the proposal.

The United Arab Emirates have recently dealt with similar concerns after conservative Muslim groups voiced their disapproval of alcohol and skimpy bathing suits. Zaazou made an effort to quell these issues, saying, "We had talks with these Salafi groups and now they understand the importance of the tourism sector, but still you have some individuals that are not from the leadership saying these things."

Zaazou, an independent unaffiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, insists rebuilding tourism is a national priority. Commenting on his ministry's recent addition of cameras in major resorts that feed live video onto its website, Zaazou stated, "We want to show people that Egypt is safe, and the best way to show this is by live streaming. The next step will be to have these images shown on big screens in public squares in Paris or New York."

Zaazou hopes the video feeds will demonstrate tourism safety, and negate any alleged media portrayal that the country is dangerous.

"It was not really fair of the media to focus on one square kilometer, Tahrir Square, because it is not really a reflection of the one million kilometers of Egypt," he told Middle-East Online. "While maybe it is reality that there were some demonstrations there and some violence, it is also reality that the rest of Egypt is safe, secure and open for business."

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