Egypt is forecasting a 6 per cent annual increase in international visitors this year to reach 16.8 million travellers, despite the shadow of regional wars.
The country, which is preparing for the ceremony marking the full opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum in July, aims to diversify its offerings and expand into adventure travel and conference meetings, among other avenues, Sherif Fathy, Egypt's Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, said at a press conference at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai on Monday.
Egypt may revise its annual forecast upwards later in the year, as the first three months of 2025 showed a 25 per cent annual increase, he said.
“I hope I'm going to announce to you soon a forecast that is higher than 10 per cent, but I'll wait for the second quarter in order to be able to give a more realistic forecast for the year,” he said.
Mr Fathy said the challenge is a shortage in accommodation, including hotel rooms.
In addition to visitors from traditional source markets such as Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, Egypt has also recorded an increase in tourists from China, Turkey and Spain, he added. There is also a notable rise in visitors from Russia as well as India and other Asian countries.
“We have been blessed: we have been given capabilities, a geographical location, history, deserts with great potential, we have been given too many things,” said Mr Fathy.
“We simply decided to adopt a business development vision and we said Egypt should be number one in the world in terms of product diversification.”
Egypt has held on to its crown as the most sought after destination for travellers in the Middle East and North Africa for the 10th consecutive year, according to the latest travel trends study released by online travel company Wego on Monday.
The Arab world's most populous country, with more than 118 million inhabitants, last year broke its records when it hosted 15.7 million tourists – a 21 per cent jump on pre-pandemic levels. This was achieved despite geopolitical challenges in the region from the Israel-Gaza war and Israel's attacks in southern Lebanon.
Egypt's tourism sector, which makes up about 12 per cent of the country's gross domestic product, is a major driver of hard currency and jobs creation. The country has set a target to attract 30 million tourists by 2030.
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The Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, during a trial partial opening on October 15. EPA -
A tourist sits beside pharaonic statues. Reuters -
The Grand Staircase is lined with hundreds of pieces, including statues, coffins and reliefs. AFP -
More statues along the Grand Staircase of the museum. AFP -
The galleries are divided into four rows, each one covering a different historical period. Reuters -
The grand opening of the museum, which has been delayed several times, is still pending an official announcement. AFP -
Two halls remain closed, one dedicate to the collection of King Tut, and another with two ships, believed to have belonged to King Khufu. AFP -
Egypt has invested $1 billion in the project. EPA -
Tickets are 200 Egyptian pounds for Egyptians and 1,000 pounds for foreigners. EPA -
Notable pieces include a colossal statue of the god Ptah statues of the cat-headed Sekhmet, the goddess of war. EPA -
Visitors can see stone tools and grinding stones from the Neolithic and Paleolithic periods. EPA -
There is also a collection from the Green Sahara period, when the desert was reportedly covered in lush vegetation. EPA
This year, Egypt will close its Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza for two weeks in June to plan a historic opening scheduled for July 3 in an opulent ceremony that is set to beat its “Golden parade” of royal mummies.
“We would like to keep what we're planning to do at the opening ceremony as confidential as possible,” Mr Fathy said.
The plan is to turn the museum into a global research and development centre for Egyptology with annual events for archaeologists, he added.
