Say ‘Egypt’s a hit’, squash players told

Squash players taking part in the championships being held in Egypt are being asked to take pictures with the Sphinx and the pyramids and circulate them on social media in a bid to encourage tourism, the country’s international squash championship committee has said.

Samantha Teran from Mexico posted her photo with the Great Pyramid on Twitter and called on her fans in Mexico to visit the pyramids. Fellow competitors Fiona Moverly, Tesni Evans and Low Wee Wern did the same.

World champion Mohamed Al-Shorbagy posted numerous photos of himself with the pyramids. He said squash would contribute to reviving tourism, especially since 56 players from 13 countries are taking part in the tournament.

Egypt’s new squash star and women’s world champion Nour al-Sherbini said the tournament would help to boost numbers of foreign tourists.

She said the tournament would attract global attention, due to the excellent organisation and the strategic location of the glass squash court which has the Giza Pyramids as its backdrop.

Al-Ahram Squash Open started on Monday and will end on Friday.

Egypt’s tourism industry has declined following the ouster of the first democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi