Egypt – a jewel in the crown

Of all the countries along the north African coast, the jewel in the tourism crown has to be Egypt. It seems to have it all – sun, sand, sea, monuments, ruins and culture.

Egypt’s tourism sector grew 24 per cent in the past fiscal year, according to the country’s minister for economic development, Osman Mohamed Osman.

To put that into context, the World Travel and Tourism Council expects the sector to rise from 16.1 per cent of GDP this year to 17.3 per cent by 2018 – equivalent to $39.5 billion and to account for one in every seven jobs. Export earnings from foreign visitors are expected to generate $12.9 billion this year, rising to over $20 billion in 10 years’ time.

Recently released central bank figures show that Egypt recorded a balance of payments surplus of $5.4 billion in the year up to June - up from $5.2 billion a year earlier; and net services and transfer revenue from tourism jumped 32.3 per cent to $10.8 billion, whilst revenue from the Suez Canal rose 23.6 per cent to $5.2 billion due to an increase in shipping through the waterway and an increase in tonnage.

In a separate report entitled “Egypt Tourism Sector Analysis”, recently compiled by industry research firm RNCOS, it estimates that Russia, Germany, the UK and Italy are the most important jumping off points for visitors to Egypt, with the UK expected soon to outpace Germany, acquiring second rank after Russia in terms of tourist arrivals.

Source - ttnworldwide.com