Tourism revenues rise by 36.7% in 1st half of 2019: CBE’s report

CAIRO – 5 April 2019: The surplus in the services balance rose by 36.7 percent to $7.3 billion from $5.3 billion and the surplus in the travel balance increased to $5.4 billion from $3.8 billion, according to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).

According to a report released by the World Tourism and Travel Council in March, tourism in Egypt has witnessed remarkable recovery over the past year. The report expected that the number of tourists coming to Egypt during the current year will be 11.7 million tourists.

In March 2019, Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli said in the Regional Forum for Technological Innovation in Tourism that the tourism sector’s indicators confirm the sector is taking steady steps on the right track and is gaining the confidence of tourists.

Madbouli also praised the role of the World Tourism Organization in supporting tourism in Arab countries.

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)’s 2018 release on global travel and tourism, Egypt welcomed about 8.5 million tourists during 2017 with an increase of 55.1 percent, compared to the same period of the previous year.

Luxor and Giza were among Egypt’s most famous and well-known cities, according to the report. France was the highest voted country for tourists in 2017.

In August, a government official told Reuters that Egypt’s tourism revenues jumped 77 percent in the first half of 2018 to amount to $4.8 billion, compared to the same period of the previous year.