French tourism to Egypt in 2018 spikes 146%: magazine

CAIRO - 13 July 2018: Tourists’ flows to Egypt has resumed and Egypt has restored its leading position again as the best tourism destination in the region, according to the French pioneering travel magazine TourMaG on Thursday.

The 20-year-old magazine revealed that percentage of French tourists visited Egypt in 2018 alone has increased to 146 percent. “Tourists no longer prefer going to Tunisia or Turkey only, Egypt is back in the competition again after years of instability,” the magazine added.

TourMaG revealed that “600,000 French tourists visited the land of the Pharaohs in 2010. But six years later, only 70,000 paid touristic visits to Egypt in 2016.”

“This increase in tourists’ numbers visiting Egypt is an outcome of the restoration of security, order and safety of travelers,” TourMaG explained.

One year ago, exactly on July 15, 2017, French Ambassador to Egypt Stephane Roumtier said in a press conference in Alexandria that “Egypt will witness an increase in the number of French tourists received in 2017.”

He praised Egypt’s increased security procedures to protect tourists at archeological sites, as witnessed during his visit to the Pyramids last July. Roumtier explained that the French government is going to cooperate with its Egyptian counterpart to organize awareness campaigns aimed at attracting tourists from all over the world.

Economically, Roumtier asserted that 50,000 French companies are currently investing in Egypt. He called for increasing investments in Egypt, citing successful ventures like the development of the third line of Cairo’s metro system and the establishment of Carrefour markets (French multinational retailor).

Routier added that President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi is interested in establishing a French industrial area in Egypt.

The trade volume between Egypt and France reached €2 billion ($2.29 billion), while the volume of investment reached €4 billion ($4.58 billion), according to Roumtier.

He further praised the measures carried out by the Egyptian government to improve the economy under a program of reforms, after securing the three-year $12 billion (LE 215.24 billion) deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).