Ferry Between Alexandria and Cyprus Resumes After a Decade of Inactivity

Last Saturday, October 19, Alexandria welcomed a cruise ship from Limassol, marking the first cruise between Egypt and Cyprus after a decade-long hiatus.

The cruise ship Salamis Filoxenia, owned by Cyprus-based Salamis Cruises, carried 500 tourists and an official delegation from Cyprus, including the mayor of the Cypriot city of Paphos, Phedon Phedonos. Shortly after arriving at the port of Alexandria, Phedonos was greeted by Alexandrian Governor Abdel Aziz Konsowa, where they held a joint press conference.

"Alexandria will witness a tourist boom in the coming period," Konsowa said during the press conference. He then went on to say that the trip is the culmination of an agreement between Alexandria and Paphos that was signed 10 months ago.

It was announced that the ship Salamis Filoxenia arrives at Alexandria two times a week, and that after six months, a low-cost airline will begin direct flights between Alexandria and Paphos. Efforts to include Alexandria and Cairo as part of the tourism programs in Cyprus are also in the works.

Phedonos added that Egypt's difficult period for tourism is at an end, and that in the near future, Egypt, Cyprus and Greece will implement more programmes to stimulate tourism between them.