The number of tourists visiting Egypt in the first half of 2018 reached 5.1 million, a 40 percent increase compared to the same period last year. April saw the highest number of tourists visiting the country—990,000, according to Al-Ahram Weekly. citing official sources.
The total number of nights spent by tourists in Egypt in the first half of 2018 reached 50 million, a 60 percent increase from the previous year. By the end of the year, the Ministry of Tourism expects to welcome at least 9.5 million visitors, and if charter flights from Russia to Egyptian resorts are restored by 2019, this figure is expected to rise to 10 million.
Tourism revenue in the first half of the year amounted to $ 4.8 billion, an increase of 77% compared to the first half of 2017. Despite a strong recovery, the country's tourism figures are still below the 2010 peak, when 14 million tourists visited its resorts., resulting in state revenues of US$12.5 billion.
Ahmed Hassan, CEO of JIT Travel Company, believes that improving the security and political situation in the republic is one of the main factors contributing to the recovery of the tourism sector.
“The return of direct flights from Russia has increased the confidence of foreign tourists in the general situation and security measures at Egyptian airports,” he added. General Manager of the hotel in Sharm el-Sheikh (name not given).
Also, last week The country's Ministry of Tourism issued a statement, which denies there are “immediate plans to introduce mandatory travel insurance for visitors to Egypt.”
The statement was issued in response to a report published by ITIJ (an international insurance magazine) which claimed that Egypt had decided to make travel insurance mandatory for all visitors following the recent deaths of British tourists John and Susan Cooper in Hurghada.
Meanwhile, despite positive achievements and recovery Egypt's tourism industry still has many industry-specific problems to solve, Al-Hayat columnist Amina Khairi believes.
So, in my material from Tourism, People and Problems She lists the main problems facing Egypt's tourism industry, including reckless driving, which results in numerous accidents, inappropriate behavior towards tourists from hotel staff and street vendors, litter in cities, and an underestimation of the country's tourism potential.
“These are just some of the issues that need to be addressed, as the decline in the number of tourists arriving in Egypt is very significant. So, From 14.7 million in 2010, it decreased to 5.4 million in 2016, and the country's annual tourism revenues fell from US$12.5 billion to US$3.8 billion." — the reviewer emphasizes.
According to her data, in 2010, there were people working in tourism Egypt's labor force is approximately 121,000 people.Today, most of this personnel have gone to work as taxi drivers, street vendors, and low-paid workers.
According to the author, it is now, when Egyptian tourism is trying to regain its tourist flow, It is time to reconsider the attitude towards foreign tourists in Egypt in general.
"For example, shopkeepers, street vendors, taxi drivers, passengers on public transport, and passersby must learn to treat visitors to the country with respect. This means avoiding intrusive glances and comments, or the desire to take selfies with tourists, especially women." are extremely inappropriate. If guests want to communicate, they will make it clear themselves." — the material says.
Speaking about security issues, Amina Khairy touched upon the recent situation with the strange death of two British tourists in a five-star hotel in Hurghada.
According to the author, The authorities were quick to point to natural causes of death for the tourists, — even before the official results of the investigation and autopsy were announced.
"Certainly, This was done to protect the reputation of the resort and Egypt. generally. But this is unfair,” — the author emphasizes.
However, despite all this, there is plenty of good news, the author writes. According to a recently published report by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Egypt has recovered from years of political unrest: foreign tourist arrivals to the country increased by 55.1% between 2016 and 2017.
The report also said that the number of visitors to Egypt from traditional markets in Western, Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the Middle East, has recovered.
Today, the country is among the world's top most promising tourist destinations. In terms of tourist flow growth, it is followed by Togo (46.71% of total tourist arrivals), San Marino (31.11% of total tourist arrivals), Vietnam (24.91% of total tourist arrivals), Israel (24.61% of total tourist arrivals), the Northern Mariana Islands (24.31% of total tourist arrivals), Georgia (27.91% of total tourist arrivals), and Nepal (24.91% of total tourist arrivals).
Source: trn-news.ru
