Egypt’s tourism strategy aims to achieve rapid growth in the sector, being on track to achieve its goal of attracting 30 million tourists annually by 2028.
The country has already received more than 7 million tourists during the first half of 2023, the highest level in Egypt’s history.
The government, under President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s administration has worked to boost the sector to ensure it remains competitive with other global tourist destinations. The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, headed by Ahmed Issa, strives to improve and elevate the quality of tourism services offered to visitors to reach their impressive targets.
Grand Cairo project
Egypt’s 7,000-year-old heritage makes it one of the most fascinating countries in the world. In recent years, the country has experienced a cultural renaissance. Egypt has spent billions of pounds opening new museums and restoring archaeological sites. The plan is to have three museums in Cairo presenting the treasures of ancient Egypt: the old Cairo Museum in Tahrir Square will remain open; the Royal Mummies can be seen at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation; and the new Grand Egyptian Museum will showcase a new collection.
Tourism investment
The government is committed to enhancing tourism by investing in the number of hotel rooms in the country. The government is currently working on a new hotels project which will include new incentive packages to attract local and foreign investors for the construction of new hotel projects in the country. The move is expected to create 400,000 hotel rooms within five years.
Museums
The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) will be a spectacular addition to Egypt’s attractions. Built close to the Giza pyramids, when finished it will be one of the largest museums in the world. Remarkably, the entire Tutankhamun collection will be housed together for the first time. And after 18 years of restoration, the Graeco-Roman Museum in Alexandria has finally reopened promising to offer visitors a profound journey through the annals of Greek and Roman heritage in Egypt.
Five-year visa
In an effort to boost tourism, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities recently announced that it will be issuing a multiple-entry visa for a period of five years, with $700 fee, for citizens of 180 countries.
EGYPTAIR announces expansion
Egyptian national airline, EGYPTAIR, part of the Star Alliance network, announced new direct routes for the carrier in 2023 including Cairo to Manchester in July, which operates five times weekly.
The airline also launched routes between Cairo and Delhi which started in August.
The route expansion comes as the airline aims to expand connections from its main hub in Africa to Europe and Asia as part of an ambitious plan to connect Egypt with many countries around the world.
EGYPTAIR also recently added Dhaka in Bangladesh, New Jersey in North America and Narita in Japan to its network.