Egypt Welcomes 7 Million Tourists Since The Start of 2023
During a Committee held at the New Administrative Capital on Monday, The Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Ahmed Issa, announced updated stats regarding the flow of tourism in Egypt. Numbers continue to rise at a steady rate, reaching 7 million during the first half of this year. Last April, Egypt hit a record-breaking milestone in its tourism sector by receiving 1.35 million tourists.
A significant achievement after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The country targets a total of 15 million tourists during 2023, compared to the previous record of 14.7 million set in 2010.
Egypt also aims to attract tourism investments worth EGP 7.4 billion In FY2022/2023, which is an increase from the EGP 6.2 billion target set for FY2021/2022.
During a debate in Egypt’s senate earlier this year, the Minister stated, “We all hope to double this figure to reach 25-30 million by the year 2028.” Egypt plans to attract 30 million tourists annually by 2028. The minister also expressed the importance of increasing hotel capacity to host more visitors. This effort is critical since the tourism industry is a major source of capital for Egypt. In recent times Egypt has faced global economic uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war.
The pandemic caused tourism arrivals in Egypt to plummet to 3.7 million in 2020. The Russia-Ukraine war also impacted the industry since both countries had been among the primary exporters of tourists to Egypt. Nevertheless, the industry has made an impressive comeback, receiving almost 11.7 million tourists in 2022. A 46% increase in comparison to the eight million arrivals in 2021. To further stimulate the tourism industry, Egypt has recently mitigated visa rules for visitors from China, Iran, India, Turkey, Morocco, and Algeria.
Now allowing tourists from 180 nationalities to obtain visas on arrival provided they have a valid and used visa on their passports for the UK, US, New Zealand, Japan, or the Schengen countries. With ongoing efforts to ensure the recovery of the tourism industry, Egypt is well on its way to achieving its tourism goals and continuing to be a top destination for travelers from around the world.
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