WTTC: Egypt’s Daily Economy Loss Over EGP 31 Million Due to UK ‘Red List’ Status

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) revealed that Egypt’s status on the UK’s travel ‘red list’ is posing a serious threat to the country’s travel and tourism sector. The WTTC research highlighted that the economy could face daily losses of more than EGP 31 million if it continues to be on the ‘red list’.

The ‘red list’ restrictions by the UK government discourages UK travelers from visiting Egypt due to the mandatory and self-paid 10-day hotel quarantine upon arrival in the UK, as well as costly PCR tests. Currently, the hefty expenses for self-isolation are estimated to cost up to £2,285 (approximately EGP 50, 000) per person.

In a report shared with Egyptian Streets, WTTC stated that Egypt’s economy could lose more than EGP 237 million each week, equivalent to more than EGP 1 billion monthly. The research urged the Egyptian government to “act now” and to speed up the vaccination rollout if it is keen to recover its tourism industry.

According to the WTTC, the COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictions had a significant negative impact on the already-struggling Egyptian Travel and Tourism sector, with this sector’s contribution to the national GDP falling from EGP 505 billion (8.8 percent) in 2019, to EGP 227.5 billion (3.8 percent) in 2020.

In January 2019, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) reported that Russian and British tourists make up the largest number of tourists traveling to Egypt.

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