The Egyptian tourism sector continues to achieve new strides, supported by national projects such as the Grand Egyptian Museum, with the state anticipating a 30 to 40 percent increase in tourism activity following its opening on November 1.
Egypt is expected to receive 18 million tourists by the end of this year, compared to 15.7 million in 2024. The tourism sector currently accounts for approximately 8.5 percent of the GDP.
According to estimates by the World Travel and Tourism Council, the tourism sector is expected to achieve an annual growth rate of 4.9 percent.
The tourism sector provides 2.7 million jobs and is expected to grow by 8.6 percent.
Tourism revenues also witnessed a significant jump of 14.7 percent during the period from July to March 2024-2025, reaching US$12.5 billion, compared to $10.9 billion in the same period the previous year.
This growth is driven by a package of government efforts, including developing tourism infrastructure and airports, improving the quality of hotel services, and launching innovative promotional campaigns to attract more promising markets.
According to Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy, Egypt’s tourism revenues increased by 22 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year, reaching eight billion dollars.
This coincided with a nearly quarter-year increase in the number of tourists visiting Egypt during the first half of this year, reaching 8.7 million.
The state also enhanced the diversity of its tourism product to include cultural, beach, and medical tourism, supporting increased tourist nights and average tourist spending.
Tourism revenues included in the balance of payments are calculated based on the number of tourist nights and average tourist spending per night, as estimated by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Egypt’s tourism sector has been able to withstand numerous regional and global challenges and tensions, including the Israeli-Palestinian war, as well as three years of conflict between Russia and Ukraine – two countries whose citizens previously constituted a significant percentage of visitors to Egypt.
