GCC tourism spending in Egypt to hit $2.3B in 2020

CAIRO - 31 January 2020: Tourism spending of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in Egypt is expected to hit $2.36 billion in 2020, marking an 11-percent rise from 2019, according to a report by the Arabian Travel Market.

The report, published by the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anba on Wednesday, added that the number of Saudi flights to Egypt reached 1,410 flights in 2019. Saudi tourists spent about $633 million in 2019, the report added, expecting this number to hit $1.13 billion in 2024.

Egypt's total tourism revenues recorded $16.4 billion in 2019 and are expected to shoot up to $29.7 billion within the coming 5 years.

The report also noted that Egypt is considered a main external market for the Gulf Cooperation Council countries as it received more than 1.84 million tourists in 2019 and it is expected to receive 2.64 million visitors in 2024.

The European continent is the largest source of tourists for Egypt, as the country received 6.2 million visitors in 2018 and is expected to receive 9.1 million visitors in 2022, according to the report.

STA Company, which specializes in data analysis, reported that Sharm El-Sheikh received increasing numbers of tourists from 2016- 2019, followed by Hurghada.