In 2024, Germany, Russia, and Saudi Arabia led the inflow of vacationers to Egypt, which noticed a notable enhance in overseas guests. Sharm El Sheikh, Better Cairo, South Sinai, and Hurghada skilled resort occupancy charges exceeding 75%. There are additionally optimistic expectations for an additional rise in inbound tourism in 2025 in comparison with the earlier 12 months.
The Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Sherif Fathy, acknowledged that Egyptian vacationer locations proceed to take pleasure in safety, security, and stability, remaining unaffected by the geopolitical occasions occurring within the Center East. This favorable scenario was mirrored within the inbound tourism numbers final 12 months, which recorded roughly 15.78 million vacationers.
This included about 8.7 million vacationers from July to December 2024. If this pattern continues, Egypt is predicted to obtain round 17 million vacationers by the top of the present fiscal 12 months (2024-2025), with a median of 1.4 million vacationers visiting every month.
Fathy additionally famous that the general common resort occupancy price reached 69% final December, representing a 25% enhance in comparison with the identical month in 2023. He identified that the federal government is encouraging resort funding by offering promising alternatives on this sector, together with incentives and financing initiatives designed to draw extra private-sector investments and stimulate the tourism trade.
Nonetheless, Egyptian tourism confronted vital challenges following the outbreak of battle on its northeastern border in Gaza. Within the final months of 2023, usually essentially the most essential vacationer season in Egypt, the cancellation price reached 50% of whole bookings.
In 2024, Egypt’s tourism sector generated roughly $15.3 billion, accounting for about 12% of the nation’s GDP. Tourism is a major overseas change supply, together with revenues from the Suez Canal, remittances, and exports.
To help the inbound tourism trade, the Egyptian authorities has allotted a most of EGP 50 billion (about $992 million) for financing corporations on this sector. This initiative goals to develop and handle new resort rooms, increase present initiatives, or rework closed buildings into resort services. Candidates must get hold of prior approval from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
