Lily Girma | Bloomberg News (TNS)
Tourism in Egypt was booming in 2023: The land of the pharaohs welcomed 14.9 million international visitors throughout the year, a record number since the pro-democracy uprising of 2011. For a country stuck in economic problems, the visitor boom showed a promising path.
That was at risk on Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked Israel and started a war next to Egypt’s northeastern border just over 200 miles from Cairo. Almost five months later, the country has lowered its tourism expectations. However, it’s still seeing growth in international arrivals.
Egypt’s minister of tourism and antiquities, Ahmed Issa, says tourist arrivals increased by 6% in the first seven weeks of 2024. That’s lower than the ministry’s expected 20% growth for the year, which would have ultimately meant 18 million yearly visitors. “If it weren’t for the war, we would have much bigger numbers,” Issa says.
Who’s staying home is potentially even more important: Americans. The makeup of current visitors favors lower spenders who come on shorter trips, mainly from Europe, versus U.S. travelers who tend to stay longer and splurge. (Egypt’s tourism revenue reached $13.6 billion in the financial year ended July 2023, up 27% from a year earlier.) At a time when other major streams of revenue, such as Suez Canal receipts, have been slashed because of the Israel-Hamas war’s impact, drawing more U.S. visitors — who stay an average of 13 nights and visit multiple regions in a single trip, according to Egyptian tourism and antiquities minister Issa — remains paramount to Egypt’s overall economy.
In fact, Egypt is likely ready to make its currency less valuable very soon to deal with the economic crisis; if that happens, it could bring big discounts for international visitors.
U.S.-based tour operator Abercrombie & Kent, which offers luxurious 10-day Nile cruises from $8,995 per person, and upscale travel agency Egypt Tourism USA, which also arranges trips to Jordan, say bookings aren’t coming in as fast and furious as they did last year, as Americans are taking a more cautious approach to traveling in the Middle East. London-based Jacada Travel has seen American tourists’ inquiries bounce back by 60% in January 2024 compared to September 2023, with particular interest in Nile cruises for later this year.
Google data on destination demand, analyzed by Bloomberg, show a similar picture. Overall search volume for hotels and flights from the US to Egypt in the period from Oct. 7 through Feb. 2, 2024, is down 16% from the previous year and has yet to rebound to prewar levels. That’s a more significant drop in interest than seen by other Middle Eastern countries: Searches for the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, for instance, were down 1.3% and 8%, respectively.
But other data indicate the fears may be unfounded. According to sentiment analysis from Spain-based tourism intelligence company Mabrian Technologies, Egypt has had a perceived security index of 86 out of 100 in recent weeks — a figure that represents how international visitors to the country describe their experiences on social media. That’s an improvement from 68.9 in mid-December 2023, though still below prewar levels of 92.4 in September 2023. A score of 100 means no complaints about safety were included in online posts about the destination.
In that respect, Egypt is doing better than its neighboring countries: The perception of tourist safety was worse in Turkey (84), Jordan (83.6) and Qatar (81.6) during February 2024, according to data from Mabrian Technologies. (There's currently no available data for Israel as tourism hasn't resumed there yet.)
Improvements to attractions and infrastructure
This might be a good time to go to Egypt if you want to avoid the crowds and get good deals, as Google data shows that hotel prices are 18% to 25% lower than usual. This would also help support the local economy. In 2019, tourism accounted for at least 9% of Egypt's gross domestic product and employed 2.4 million people. Additionally, you'd be among the first to see various improvements in different parts of the country.
"Over the past seven years, Egypt has spent 22% of its GDP on infrastructure," says Issa, and the country is making enhancements in order to attract 30 million visitors by 2028. "The current infrastructure in Egypt can handle four or five times (the number of tourists it received in 2023)."
A particular focus is on increasing the number of luxury hotel rooms to accommodate high-spending visitors. The Waldorf Astoria Cairo Heliopolis (with rates starting from $232) opened in August. Additionally, the UAE has just signed a $35 billion deal with Egypt to develop the beachfront Ras El-Hekma, approximately a four-hour drive northwest of Cairo, into a luxury resort that would attract significant hotel investments.
In a few months, visitors to Egypt can look forward to more hop-on, hop-off electric buses stopping at nine sights within the Giza pyramid complex; several new restaurants have also opened in the Giza compound over the past three years. A short distance away, the much-anticipated Grand Egyptian Museum will be fully opening this year.
To the east of the pyramids, five archaeological sites are being renovated as part of a plan to encourage short-haul visitors to choose multiple breaks in Cairo. Restoration is also in progress at the 500-year-old Ottoman Mosque and at the palace of Muhammad Ali, who governed Egypt in the early 19th century. This is in addition to two restored towers now accessible to visitors at the Citadel of Cairo, an iconic 12th century landmark in the city’s skyline that was once the seat of government, as well as the new Imhotep Museum in Giza, which holds over 300 archaeological pieces representing various dynasties.
Visiting will involve staying updated on government travel advisories. For Americans, the State Department advisory for Egypt has not changed since July, when terrorism and potential attacks on tourist locations—including in Cairo—raised it to Level 3: Reconsider Travel. However, the areas of concern in the advisory are away from the major destinations, including the beach resort hub Sharm el-Sheikh.
The safest approach for travelers going to Egypt this year is to leave the planning to the professionals, who can guide guests or make changes to itineraries if the situation suddenly changes. For those planning a luxury Nile cruise in the latter half of the year, early planning will be crucial.
“Alesha Walton, who oversees trip planning for the Middle East at Jacada Travel, mentions that some of the most popular cruises are already fully booked for October 2024. Therefore, acting quickly provides the best chance of getting good weather and available rooms.”
©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
