Egypt has officially been ranked the world’s second cheapest country for international tourists in this year’s “Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report” (TTCR) issued annually by the World Economic Forum. The TTCR, first published in 2007, measures “the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable development of the Travel & Tourism sector, which in turn contributes to the development and competitiveness of a country.” This year the report compared the tourism industry between 141 countries based on factors such as safety and security, hygiene, business environment, price-competitiveness, transportation and the country’s overall stability. The cheap travel Egypt offers is overshadowed by its lower rankings in regards to safety and security (ranked 136th) which, according to the TTCR, is “reducing Egypt’s appeal to international tourists […] hence, funds available for investment.” Egypt’s ground infrastructure (ranked 103rd) is additionally a setback which, according to the report, “requires a significant upgrade, especially in terms of quality of roads and efficiency of the transport network.” Egypt received an overall ranking of 83rd worldwide and 10th within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with an approximate 9 million visitors annually. The TTCR…
