As Egypt prepares to welcome back visitors to its sunny shores in 2012, there are a number of new hotel developments and openings taking place around the destination. Breaking Travel News investigates.

Hussein Massoud has been sworn in as the Egyptian minister of civil aviation, after being commissioned by the Egyptian prime minister Kamal El Ganzoury. After accepting the responsibilities of the new position, Massoud said: “The priorities in the next period will be directed towards organising the internal structure of the ministry and creating a homogeneous teamwork system.”

Egyptian tourism minister, his excellency Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, has welcomed the World Travel Awards to the country, telling an industry audience the event gives him “confidence in the future”. “Confidence in Egypt is starting return; Egypt is very valuable to the international tourism industry,” the minister added ahead of the event this evening at SOHO Square in Sharm el Sheikh.

Key hotel performance indicators for the Middle East and North Africa region are split down the middle, but post very good signs of improvement, according to the latest analysis from MKG Hospitality. Turkey - which will celebrate the arrival of the World Travel Awards later this week - has emerged as a star performer in the region, while Bahrain, Tunisia and Morocco have all seen figures hit by political instability in the region.

Egypt’s annual Koran memorization competition will begin August 19, during the holy month of Ramadan.

The Egyptian Tourist Authority has launched a new website which allows users to tailor-make their perfect trip to the country while also making it easier for travellers to fit in everything they want to see on holiday. The new website gives users the chance to create their own journeys, and to book the trip through one of the site’s travel agents.