Study: 12.9 million tourists visit Egypt annually

CAIRO – 22 August 2022: A recent ministerial reshuffle is expected to have a positive effect on stimulating tourism activity and portfolio in Egypt, according to a study published by the Egyptian Observatory of the Egyptian Center for Thought and Studies.

The study indicated that in light of the international competitiveness witnessed by the world after the closures, Egypt is witnessing strong competition from the countries of the region, which requires marketing plans and a diversity of tourist patterns and products to meet this competition, in addition to facilitating access procedures with drawing a trademark for the Egyptian destination.

The Egyptian tourist destination is characterized by the diversity of tourism products and tourist destinations from environmental, cultural, coastal and entertainment, in addition to medical tourism, yachting and diving.

The study said that the number of tourists arriving at the Egyptian tourist destination during 2019 by air reached about 10.3 million, about 1.1 million tourists by sea, and by land, about 1.5 million tourists arrived in the country.

The figures show that the aviation sector is the most attractive; however the main challenges facing it are the rise in fuel prices and airport services, which affect the flight price offered to tourists, especially in light of the decline in movement with the increase in global inflation, and the state of closure due to the Corona pandemic.

In Egypt, there are about 27 international and local airports with a capacity of 30 million passengers annually, including two airports under the B.O.T system, which are Marsa Alam and El Alamein airports.

For the land transport, there are problems related to old tourist fleets operating in the sector. According to the Cultural Tourism Committee, around 46% of the tourist transport fleet has been working for over 10 years, while only 30% of the fleet, is the latest and most capable of serving the tourism industry, in addition to some customs problems and disruption of licenses.

The study indicated that the political leadership’s interest in the tourism and travel sector prompted the opening of new airports to connect the tourist cities and archaeological areas such as: Sphinx Airport to relieve pressure on Cairo Airport and reduce landing expenses.

In addition to the policies of stimulus programs taken by the Prime Ministry to support charter flight programs to link the Egyptian destination with countries that do not have regular flights, and extending the program until April 31, 2023.

The study pointed out that it is expected that low-cost airlines will face market competition in the region, especially with the presence of Air Arabia Sharjah, which leads to the need to provide services and establish partnerships with the local and regional private sector to increase competitiveness and expand the market share of the company.

The study pointed out that the tourism sector was subjected to several shocks resulting from the impact of the Corona virus on the world, followed by the economic consequences, the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and the increase in global inflation, which affected the volume of incoming tourism, and thus increased the burdens on workers in the sector.

The study indicated that the government is serious about supporting the tourism sector with stimulus packages by postponing water, gas and electricity dues, and insurance dues, benefiting from the Central Bank financing initiative, postponing or exempting tax dues on tourist real estate, as well as diversifying the infrastructure of roads, national projects, and connection projects.