Egypt’s top tourism official told the Associated Press that the country is seeking to double the number of visitors in the next five years. The new goal is 30 million visitors by 2028, an ambitious goal.
“We’re seeing unparalleled demand, unprecedented demand for travel into Egypt,” Tourism and Antiquities Minister Ahmed Issa said.
Issa explained that Egypt has already welcomed 10 million tourists in the first eight months of 2023, putting it on track for 15 million in 2023, which would be a record year for the North African country.
Egypt received more 14 million tourists in 2010. But then the country’s tourism industry was badly impacted by the popular uprising in 2011 that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak and the ensuing unrest. The coronavirus, followed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, dealt additional blows, just as the sector was getting back on its feet.
Tourism is a major source of foreign currency for Egypt. Last year, tourism revenues surged to $10.7 billion, up from around $5 billion in 2021, according to Egypt’s central bank.
The government’s plan focuses on what Issa calls the “supply side,” which includes increasing the number of hotel rooms in the country and seats on flights to Egypt by more than 30 percent annually, as well as encouraging more private investment in the tourism sector.
Issa said the tourism industry would add 25,000 hotel rooms to Egypt’s current capacity of about 210,000. This increase would help the government achieve its target of 18 million tourist visits in 2024.
“That will be the fastest growth in (hotel) rooms in Egypt over the past 20 years,” he said.
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