U.S. radio: Strong return of Egyptian tourism in 2017 after years of unrest

CAIRO- 28 November 2017: Tourists returning to Egypt after a dry spell caused by the post-2011 revolution unrest, U.S. radio station “BRI” reported on Tuesday.

BRI radio reported that the tourist industry is booming and visitors are returning to the bazaars in Khan al-Khalili, Luxor, and even to the Red Sea’s beaches.

Between January and September 2017, 5.9 million tourists visited Egypt, compared to 3.8 million during the same period in 2016, according to official figures.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (WTO) ranked Egypt as the second fastest growing tourism destination in 2017, saying that Egypt is expected to receive 8 million tourists by the end of the year. However, there are still fewer visitors in the country today than there was prior to the 2011 Revoution. At the time, Egypt received more than 14.7 million tourists in 2010 and the tourism sector accounted for 10 per cent of the workforce in the country.

The report noted that the Egyptian government is very disappointed with some countries countries, for example Britain. According to the report, the British Government is still worried about their citizen’s safety in Egypt, despite the tightening of airport security procedures with the assistance of the British Aviation Security Company.

The report also states that it is still too early to measure the impact caused by the recent terrorist attack on Al-Rawdah mosque in Arish, Northern Sinai. However, it is important to keep in mind that many European countries that are considered to be safe, such as France, Germany, and Britain, have also recently witnessed an increasing number of terrorist attacks.

Swedish tourist Emily Erickson, who visited Khan al-Khalili earlier this month, said that the terror attack will not change European perspective about the security situation in Egypt. “At least we know that attacks can take place anywhere,” Erickson said.

Moreover, Rajab al-Mutali, a tourist guide in Luxor, pointed out that an increasing number of tourists have been coming to Luxor since September. Reservations for Nile trips between Luxor and Aswan have increased by 50 per cent. “This is a great improvement in comparison to previous years,” he said.

The U.S. radio station also reported that the growing confidence in Egypt's tourism sector is also evident in the occupancy rates in the Hilton Hotels. Mohab Ghali, vice president of Hilton Worldwide in North Africa, told Reuters news agency that hotel occupancy rates in Egypt have risen this year by 20 and 25 per cent.