Booze And Bikinis Welcome In Egypt After Ban; Tourism Has Dropped And Minister Says Expected Tourism Boost WIth Alcohol And Relaxation[VIDEOS]

Egypt is open to visitors who drink alcohol and wear bikinis, the tourism minister has said, as the Islamist-ruled country sets out to boost numbers by at least a fifth this year.

Earlier this month tourists were warned to cover up on certain public beaches in the UAE or face a fine for showing too much skin and not to consume booze. This decreased tourism significantly, especially to those from Britain who vacation there frequently.

Authorities in Ras al-Khaimah, the northernmost emirate in the UAE, posted signs on public beaches warning of possible fines for revealing swimwear such as two-piece bikinis for women and Speedo-style swimming trunks for men, the most popluar looks for European tourists.

Egypt's tourism minister has now vetoed those signs and declared that visitors who drink alcohol and wear bikinis are welcome in the country, after Muslim groups called for a ban to be imposed.

The minister, Hisham Zaazou, said the government had "optimistic goals" for the sector, and he does not agree with radical Salafi Muslim groups who have called for a ban on alcohol and women wearing swimsuits.

"Bikinis are welcome in Egypt and booze is still being served," Zaazou, speaking in English, told a news conference.

"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," added the minister.

Mr Hisham Zaazou is aiming to boost tourism to Egypt, where visitor numbers have dropped considerably following President Hosni Mubarak.

Before Mubarak, tourism was earning more than a tenth of Egypt's economic output. In 2010, 14.7 million people visited Egypt, generating $12.5bn in earnings.  Arrivals slowed to 9.8 million the following year and income to $8.8bn.  Tourists don't want to vacation in a spot they feel threatened to relax.

Egypt's long-term target was to reach 30 million tourists and revenues of $25bn by 2022. This seemed impossible with bikini and booze bans.

Rebuilding tourism is a national priority. To help meet the goal of increasing visitor numbers by 20% this year, Zaazou's ministry has installed cameras in major resorts which feed live video onto its website.

"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", he said.

"This is just a temporary halt, tourism will resume again and we are currently in talks with these groups who objected," said Zaazou, who said he hoped the issue would be resolved within two weeks.