Foreign tourism arrivals to Egypt increased by 20% in 9 months

The number of tourists arriving in Egypt increased by 20% to 11 million tourists during the first 9 months of the current year 2023, despite the geopolitical events in the Arab region.

Amr El-Kady, CEO of the Egyptian General Authority for Tourism Promotion, said in press statements that tourism contributes up to 15% of Egypt’s economic output, and is a major source of foreign exchange, in addition to the Suez Canal, expatriate remittances, and exports.

Increase in foreign tourism to Egypt

Preliminary indicators of international tourism flows to Egypt during last October show a growth in the number of tourists by 10% over the same period last year.

The Israeli war on the Palestinian Gaza Strip since the seventh of last October until now has affected the numbers and revenues of tourism in a number of neighboring countries that have borders with both sides.

Egypt received 7 million tourists in the first half of this year, an increase of 43% year-on-year, bringing it close to achieving the year-wide target of 15 million tourists.

Increase the number of tourists next year

Egypt expects the number of tourists to increase next year to 18 million. But recent geopolitical turmoil in the region may hinder achieving this goal.

Egypt aims to increase tourism sector revenues from the average currently estimated at about $12 billion annually, to $30 billion annually during the next three years.

The operating hotel capacity in Egypt is about 220,000 rooms, two-thirds of which are located in the Red Sea and South Sinai regions.

Tourist establishments in Egypt witnessed the cancellation of some reservations as a direct impact of the Israeli war in Gaza, but the size of these cancellations varied according to the region and from one nationality to another, according to press reports on October 30, 2023.

Tourism in Egypt was affected by the outbreak of war in Gaza

Elhamy El-Zayat, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Emco Tourism, said that the volume of cancellations increased in Sinai resorts, while it was lower in the Red Sea and Nile Valley regions. As for the nationalities that canceled their reservations the most, Americans and Canadians came first, while Europeans canceled the least.

A CNN report, on October 31, 2023, indicated that tourism in Egypt was affected by the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Hamas movement, as the rate of reservations slowed in tourist destinations near the border, while it remained relatively stable in the rest of the cities.