Egypt should expect a “significant increase” of incoming tourists over the winter, stated Hisham El-Demery, chairman of Egypt’s Tourism Promotion Authority on Wednesday.
As tourist figures in Egypt rose by 51 percent throughout the first quarter of 2017, it may lead to a surge of incoming visitors during the winter months.
According to Demery, the increasing wave of holiday-goers can be attributed to Egypt’s recent tourism campaign, which began in September 2016 and took place in 11 different countries across the globe.
During the press statement, Demery said that the ongoing campaign has positively contributed to the nation’s tourism industry overall.
The initiative cost $US 19 million overall throughout 2016, and $US 9 million for 2017 so far, he added.
Egypt’s Image
The campaign has reportedly improved Egypt’s image in nations where previous travel warnings were imposed, leading many, particularly the European markets, to lift flight bans to popular destinations such as Sharm El-Sheikh.
Tourists from Germany saw a year-on-year increase of over 50 percent, and arrivals originating from Poland and the Ukraine doubled this year compared to 2016.
Numbers of Italian visitors, a large market in Sinai, showed a 20 percent surge, and tourists from the UK jumped by 20 percent, he added in the statement.
Various tourism representatives, such as Kamel Abu Ali, the Red Sea Tourism Investment Association’s chairman, resigned last week as an act of protest against what they feel is a lack of vision when it comes to Egypt’s tourism sector, which has suffered in recent years.
“It’s not about Russia or Britain anymore. The sector is in need of structural reform and communication. The Minister has to find ways to collaborate with all the sector’s entities to be able to successfully tract investors and target the problems mentioned,” Abu Ali said to Egypt Independent.
Egypt has said early in the year that it feels confident in the ability to appeal to millions of tourists abroad after a 44 percent decline in 2016.
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