Egypt’s Tourism Sector Prepares for Major Hotel Expansion

Egypt’s newly appointed Tourism and Antiquities Minister, Sherif Fathy, introduced a comprehensive plan to expand the country’s hotel capacity in anticipation of the surge in tourist arrivals.

According to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Egypt welcomed 7.069 million tourists between January and June 2024, generating a revenue of USD 6.6 billion (EGP 316.8 billion), as opposed to 7.062 million tourists visited Egypt in the same period of 2023, generating a revenue of USD 6.3 billion (EGP 302.4 billion).

Egypt plans to reach 30 million tourists by the end of 2024, Fathy reported, which is a massive leap from 14.9 million tourists who visited Egypt in 2023, representing an annual increase of 27 percent. 

The hotel expansion agenda outlined a series of initiatives to boost the nation’s tourism and antiquities sector, starting with expanding hotels in key tourist destinations, such as Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, the Red Sea, South Sinai, and the North Coast. 

During the first quarter of 2024, 4,012 hotel rooms, both conventional and floating, were added, bringing the overall count to 222,716. The additions include 1,503 rooms across 11 newly launched hotels, 1,264 additional rooms in existing hotel expansions, and 1,245 reopened rooms in Cairo, the Red Sea, South Sinai, and Luxor governorates.

To encourage companies in the sector to expand their hotel room capacity and accommodate the growing number of tourists flocking to the country, the Egyptian government plans to offer financial incentives totaling EGP 50 billion (USD 1.042 billion).

Experts indicate that every increase of 15,000 hotel rooms could potentially generate between EGP 1 billion (USD 20.8 million) to EGP 2  billion (USD 41.7 million) in value-added tax, alongside an estimated EGP 2 billion (USD 41.7 million) in commercial tax and industrial profits; the expansion also projects offering around 45,000 new job opportunities, both directly and indirectly, thereby injecting vitality into the labor market.

Egypt’s tourism sector is forecasted to increase its contribution to the national gross domestic product (GDP) to nearly EGP 988 billion (USD 20.58 billion) in 2024, accounting for 8.1 percent of the country’s economy, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) reported.

According to Ghada Shalaby, the deputy minister for tourism affairs, there are currently around 5,000 hotel rooms in the North Coast region, a figure Egypt aims to double in the near future.

The ministry has also prepared a plan to utilize museums and manage them through collaboration with the private sector to maximize their benefit,” Fathy stated at the fourth meeting of the special committee formed to study the new government’s policy statement. He highlighted ongoing efforts to overhaul its structure for comprehensive governance as part of its action plan.