Dear Minister of Tourism Dr Rania Al-Mashat Congratulations on being appointed Egypt’s new Minister of Tourism. The appointment of a fresh face with an inspiring and successful background into one of Egypt’s most important ministries has been long overdue. Tourism continues to be a cornerstone of the Egyptian economy. As you know, prior to 2011, more than four million Egyptians used to rely on the tourism industry to make a living, accounting for about 12 percent of Egypt’s economy and 13 percent of total employment. In recent months, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism has talked about the strong return of tourists to Egypt. Earlier this month, a Ministry source told Reuters that tourism revenues had jumped 123.5 percent year-on-year in 2017 to $US 7.6 billion, with 8.3 million people visiting Egypt. Having visited key touristic sites annually since 2011, Egyptian Streets can confirm that tourists appear to be returning to the country in large numbers. However, while tourists are coming back to Egypt, the state of services provided to tourists in Egypt has been falling into an embarassing mess. Tourists arriving in Egypt to visit key historic sites struggle to find…
An Open Letter to Egypt’s New Minister of Tourism Dr Rania Al-Mashat
January 15, 2018
