Egypt Tourism Factsheet: International Tourism and Economic Impact

This factsheet provides a comprehensive overview of the tourism sector in Egypt. It begins with an analysis of international visitor numbers, highlighting growth trends and key source markets, including Germany, the Arab world, India, and China. The report then examines the characteristics of accommodation options available, ranging from luxury hotels to budget-friendly hostels and campsites. A significant portion is dedicated to the economic impact of tourism, detailing its contribution to Egypt's GDP, employment rates, and revenue generation over the past decade, including fluctuations due to political instability and security concerns. Finally, the factsheet identifies the main types of attractions, such as the pyramids, temples, the Nile River, and various historical sites, that draw tourists to Egypt. The document includes data tables and references to provide a detailed and informative analysis of Egypt's tourism industry.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL TOURISM SYSTEM
Factsheet Preparation: Egypt
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Egypt Tourism
Egypt has been a leading tourism destination since thousands of years. The country has
been a major source of power as long as history goes back and hence, it has a rich cultural
history and numerous destinations that attract millions of tourists every year. The main attraction
of Egypt is the pyramid, which is considered as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The
Nile Valley has several millennia-old monuments that are the major tourist attractions.
Total number of visitors to Egypt and analysis of international visitor growth and source
market
The total tourist arrivals in Egypt reached 11.3 million in 2018, which is a significant
increase from 8.3 million in 2017 (enterprise.press 2019). Among this huge number of tourists,
the German tourists constitute the majority with 1.7 million in numbers. Apart from the
Germans, significant number of visitors came from Britain, Ukraine, Italy, Sudan, Libya and
Saudi Arabia. Egypt received highest number of visitors in 2010 with 14.7 million, and after that
the number reduced due to political and economic turmoil and violence in the nation and in the
Middle East (Oxford Business Group 2019). However, 2018 experienced a significant surge in
the tourist number. According to the tourism department of Egypt, there was a fall in number of
visitors after 2010, such as, 9.8 million in 2011, 11.5 million in 2012, 9.5m in 2013, 9.8m in
2014, 9.3m in 2015 and 5.4 million in 2016, representing a drop of 42% than 2015 due to a series
of events like terrorism, travel ban by foreign government and general concerns over safety
(Ceicdata.com 2019). It again increased in 2017 with 8.3 million visiting Egypt and 11.3 million
in 2018.

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Year 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Number of
international
visitors in Egypt
(in millions)
14.7 9.8 11.5 9.5 9.8 9.3 5.4 8.3 11.3
(Source: Ceicdata.com 2019)
In the past decade, the source markets of international visitors have expanded
significantly and rapidly. With a growth in the global economy, the trend of international travel
has become extremely popular. In case of Egypt’s latest data on the international visits, it has
been observed that Arab world is the major source market for Egypt. 2 million Arab tourists
visited the country in 2016, accounting for 40% of the total visits. The country has particularly
targeted tourists from India and China due to the rapid and immense growth of these two
economies. In 2017, the country estimated a 50% increase in the visitors from India and by end
of 2019, they expect 300,000–400,000 Indian tourists (Oxford Business Group 2019). Similarly,

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number of Chinese tourists increased from 65,000 in 2014 to more than 200,000 in 2016 and
within the first 5 months of 2017, Chinese tourists increased by 94% year-on-year and reached
18000. Apart from that, while in 2015, Russians accounted for the majority, that is, 68% of the
total tourists in Egypt, the number fell to 13% in 2016. In 2017, 70% of the international tourists
came from Europe, Germans accounting for 35% of the incoming tourists each month, and
another 26% constituted from the Arab countries (Gaille 2018). Another report by Egypt Today
shows that among the source markets, Germany constitutes 13%, Russia provides 12%, followed
by the UK (7%), Saudi Arabia (6%) and Italy (3%) (EgyptToday 2019).
Characteristics of accommodation options available at the tourist destinations in Egypt
Accommodation options near any of the tourist destinations in Egypt consist of bed and
breakfast hotels for tourists with different price ranges as well as different preferences, from
luxury to camping (World Travel Guide 2019). There are international hotel chains rated deluxe,
and from one-star to five-star. Depending on the ratings, the price and facilities vary and
customers can book as per their choice and affordability. There are also hostels for low budget
travellers and backpackers. The tourism department and some of the large hotels also provide
occasional campsites with ready-pitched tents, beds, showers and toilet facilities, which are
better than the shadeless camps on the coasts with very less facilities (Rough Guides 2019).
Furthermore, there are various tourism companies that provide cruise on the Nile River. They
provide various packages suitable to tourists with different budgets and time schedule and these
cruises are very popular among the international tourists.

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Economic impact on GDP from tourism in Egypt
Tourism is one of the major sectors in Egypt that contributes in the GDP and economic
growth. In the past decade, as the international tourism grew substantially, the amount of revenue
from the tourism sector became a significant source of GDP. According to the World Travel
&Tourism Council (WTTC), the tourism sector contributed 11.9% of the total GDP in 2018. It
was worth of LE 528.7 billion or USD 29.6 billion and the sector grew 16.5% during 2018. It
created 2.48 million employment opportunities, which is 9.5% of the total employment in the
country and it is expected to reach 3.222 million in 2029 (Usaid.gov 2019). In 2017, the sector
earned revenue of LE 218.1 billion (USD 12.2 billion). At the peak of its tourism in 2010, the
sector provided 12% of the total employment and USD $12.5 billion GDP was generated. In
2013, when the number of tourists declined to 9.5 million, the revenue came down to USD 5.9
billion (Gaille 2018). Terrorism activities, political unrest and security threats have majorly
impacted the tourism of Egypt and that affected the level of GDP and development of tourism
sector. In 2016, the GDP contribution was on 3.2% and job creation was only 2.9% (Usaid.gov
2019).
Year GDP (in USD billion)
2010 12.5
2011 8.7
2012 10
2013 5.9
2014 6.2
2015 7.4
2016 3.8

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2017 7.6
2018 11.4
(Source: Tradingeconomics.com 2019)
Main attraction types in Egypt
Egypt has a very rich history of civilization. Since thousands of years, Egypt has been a
major source of political and economic power of the world. Thus, the tourist attractions consist
of the remnants of history, the marvelous and astonishing creations of mankind, the tombs of the
pharos, pyramids and sphinx and the Nile River, which is the longest of the world (Lee 2018).
The main attraction points in Egypt are the Great Spinx and the Pyramids at Giza, Abu Simbel
temples in the south of Aswan, Valley of Kings in Luxor, Mosque of Muhammad Ali Pasha and

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Cairo museum in Cairo, Karnak Temple Complex, Saqqara, the ancient burial ground near
Ancient Egyptian capital Memphis, and the tomb of Tutankhamen. Other than this, there are
Alexandria, the port city, Aswan Valley Dam on the Nile, Sinai Peninsula, Assiut, containing
historic buildings and Ain Sukhna, and Hurghada containing beach resorts and water sports
(Touropia 2019).

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References
Ceicdata.com, 2019. Egypt Visitor Arrivals [1982 - 2019] [Data & Charts]. [online]
Ceicdata.com. Available at: https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/egypt/visitor-arrivals
[Accessed 10 Aug. 2019].
EgyptToday, 2019. Travel, tourism contribute to Egypt’s GDP by 11.9%. [online] EgyptToday.
Available at: https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/3/67255/Travel-tourism-contribute-to-Egypt
%E2%80%99s-GDP-by-11-9 [Accessed 10 Aug. 2019].
enterprise.press, 2019. Egypt’s tourist arrivals reach 11.3 mn in 2018. [online] Enterprise.
Available at: https://enterprise.press/stories/2019/02/12/egypts-tourist-arrivals-reach-11-3-mn-in-
2018/ [Accessed 10 Aug. 2019].
Gaille, B., 2018. 19 Egyptian Tourism Industry Statistics, Trends & Analysis. [online]
BrandonGaille.com. Available at: https://brandongaille.com/19-egyptian-tourism-industry-
statistics-trends-analysis/ [Accessed 10 Aug. 2019].
Lee, J., 2019. 15 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Egypt. [online] Planetware.com. Available at:
https://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions/egypt-egy.htm [Accessed 10 Aug. 2019].
Oxford Business Group, 2019. Egypt sees growth in visitor numbers and tourism revenue.
[online] Oxford Business Group. Available at: https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/overview/road-
recovery-improving-visitor-numbers-and-sector-revenues-lead-renewed-optimism [Accessed 10
Aug. 2019].

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Rough Guides, 2019. Accommodation in Egypt for tourists. [online] Rough Guides. Available at:
https://www.roughguides.com/destinations/africa/egypt/accommodation/ [Accessed 10 Aug.
2019].
Tradingeconomics.com, 2019. Egypt Tourism Revenues. [online] Trading Economics. Available
at: https://tradingeconomics.com/egypt/tourism-revenues [Accessed 10 Aug. 2019].
Touropia, 2019. 10 Top Tourist Attractions in Egypt. [online] Touropia. Available at:
https://www.touropia.com/top-attractions-in-egypt/ [Accessed 10 Aug. 2019].
Usaid.gov, 2019. Economic Growth and Tourism | Egypt | U.S. Agency for International
Development. [online] Usaid.gov. Available at: https://www.usaid.gov/egypt/economic-growth-
and-tourism [Accessed 10 Aug. 2019].
World Travel Guide, 2019. Egypt - Accommodations. [online] World Travel Guide. Available at:
https://www.worldtravelguide.net/guides/africa/egypt/region-hotels/ [Accessed 10 Aug. 2019].