Egyptian Tourism Industry rebounds

The number of tourists visiting Egypt plunged by a third in 2011 according to recently revealed data from the country’s state statistics body.

The report stated that Tourist numbers fell to almost 10 million last year, from 14.7 million in 2010.

There is no doubt that the tourism sector has taken the toughest blow following the 25 January Uprising.

Political turmoil and insecurity was a major reason.

Number of tourists’ visiting Egypt in 2011 decreased by 32.2 per cent to reach 9.8 million tourists compared to 14.7 million in 2010.

Tourism is a mainstay of the Egyptian economy which creates hundreds of thousands of job opportunities.

In 2010, 15 million tourists visited the country and tourism contributed six per cent of the nation’s GDP with $13 billion in revenues.

But the latest events following the uprising have proved devastating to Egypt’s most significant hard currency earner as revenues from tourism dropped by 35 per cent in 2011.

Recovery plans are underway by the Egyptian touristic authority to bring back the levels to normal.

This ad was one of the demand generation channel to attract tourists.

In 2011, occupancy rates in Egypt’s main tourist destinations dropped drastically.

Although the tourism sector kept and still suffering from the unstable conditions Egypt is witnessing, still the industry’s experts are forecasting a faster rebound once stability and security are fully restored.

“While the tourism sector was one of most affected sectors after the uprising, it promises a quick comeback once things settle down in Egypt. Experts are expecting a recovery after holding the presidential election next may. Sherif El Touny, CCTV, Cairo.”