Skift Take
About 1.5 million Russians visited Egypt last year, making it the second most visited country after Germany.
Josh Corder
In the first half of 2024, Egypt’s tourism sector revenues rose 5% to $6.6 billion from $6.3 billion in the same period in 2023. According to the latest data from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Egypt welcomed 7.069 million tourists from January to June 2024, up from 7.062 million tourists the previous year, a slight 0.1% increase from 2023.
The ministry also reported that Egypt’s tourism receipts have grown 18 percent since 2010, reaching $5.6 billion in the country’s peak tourism year.
The increase in tourism numbers is also contributing to an increase in tourist overnight stays in Egypt, which are expected to total 70.2 million in the first half of 2024, up from 67.6 million in 2023 and 65.7 million in 2010.
Support from Russia
Egypt continues to focus on attracting Russian tourists. The outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war shocked Egypt, but since then the number of Russian tourists to Egypt has increased sharply.
Egypt’s Official Gazette reported last week that the Tourism Ministry is “looking to Russian travel agencies” to attract more tourists to the North African country. Russia is Egypt’s second-largest source market after Germany. Last year, 1.4 million Russians headed to Egypt, 40 percent more than in 2022.
Egypt has set a goal of welcoming 1.8 million Russians into the country this year. Between January and March, Egypt received 258,600 Russians.
“Egypt is hoping to cooperate with Russian travel agencies to attract more tourists to its northeast coast,” the paper said.
The north coast extends into the Mediterranean Sea and is home to some of Egypt’s most popular resort destinations.
This month, Amr El Kadi, CEO of the Egyptian Tourism Authority, held a series of talks with a number of Russian tour operators specializing in Egypt.
El Kadi met with tour operators to review operational strategies for the promotion of Egyptian destinations in the summer and the following winter season. The meeting also discussed challenges faced by Russian tour operators.
Egypt and Russia have agreed to step up promotion of Egyptian tourist destinations in the Russian market in the future.
Tour operators are vital to Egypt’s tourism ecosystem: last year the tourism minister said that 80 percent of tourists from European markets come to Egypt through tour operators.
The tourism sector, which accounts for around 12% of Egypt’s GDP, faced major challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic and the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, which led to a decline in tourist numbers.
In response, Egypt last year announced plans to double the number of foreign tourists to 30 million by 2028 while promoting increased private investment in the tourism industry.
Egypt is seeking to expand its tourism sector and aims to develop 250,000 hotel rooms as part of a strategy to generate at least $30 billion in annual revenue. As part of this effort, the country plans to add 25,000 hotel rooms this year.
Egypt’s tourism sector development
The date for the grand opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum has not yet been set. Egypt’s Minister of Tourism Ahmed Issa said he hopes to finish installing exhibits in the world’s largest archaeological museum by the end of March. The museum is estimated to cost $1 billion, and construction has been underway since 2013. The opening has been postponed many times. “Egypt wants to offer a whole new visitor experience, not just at the Grand Egyptian Museum, but at the pyramids,” Minister Issa said. The UAE’s $35 billion Ras el-Hekma development plan (Egypt). “For the last 50 years, Egyptians have been there on domestic trips. There has usually not been much international tourism,” Minister Issa said. “We hope that this project will bring the north coast back into the spotlight as a serious Egyptian tourist destination.” Room capacity continues to grow. In 2023, Egypt will add 14,000 hotel rooms, bringing the capacity to 220,000. The country plans to add another 25,000 rooms in 2024.
Photo credit: Russian tourism to Egypt is on the rise.
