Alexandria established its prestigious position as a center for luring the European and Arab tourism according to the Reuters news agency's correspondent.

During this summer, a group of important tourist and commercial institutions have been inaugurated including the new luxurious San Stefano Hotel.

In the last year, an enormous multi-store commercial mull has been opened while a new international airport is currently being constructed especially for the city which enables it to receive thousands of tourists every day.

Concurrent with the Egyptian economy's growth rate hitting more than 5 percent for the third consecutive year, the increased revenues of the oil-rich Arab Gulf States and the European economies improvement, the city has achieved a remarkable success in attracting more Arab and European tourists.

The new airport of Alexandria can receive as many as 1,5 million tourists per annum and 30 flights per day when it becomes ready for operation in the year 2008, said Sayed Khalaf, the director general of the airport.