The secretary of state for French tourism, Léon Bertrand, has agreed to work with the Egyptian tourist office to enable Egypt to benefit from similar methods of promotion that France employs – such as La Maison de la France – the French national tourist promotion agency.

Arriving in Cairo for a three-day visit, Mr Bertrand said: “We can give all our help” to develop a similar system in Egypt.

In August Egypt welcomed 743,300 tourists, a 29.5 per cent improvement on the same period last year, according to the Egyptian tourist office.