Tourism in Egypt

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Tourism is one of the leading sources of income, crucial to Egypt's economy. At its peak in 2010, the sector employed about 12% of workforce of Egypt,^[1] serving approximately 14.7 million visitors to Egypt, and providing revenues of nearly $12.5 billion ^[2] as well as contributing more than 11% of GDP and 14.4% of foreign currency revenues.^[3]

The number of tourists in Egypt stood at 0.1 million in 1952. Tourism became an important sector of the economy from 1975 onwards, as Egypt eased visa restrictions for almost all European and North American countries and established embassies in new countries like Austria, Netherlands, Denmark and Finland. In 1976, tourism was a focal point of the Five Year Plan of the Government, where 12% of the budget was allocated to upgrading state-owned hotels, establishing a loan fund for private hotels, and upgrading infrastructure (including road, rail, and air connectivity) for major tourist centers along with the coastal areas. In 1979, tourism experts and advisors were brought in from Turkey and several new colleges were established with Turkish help between 1979 and 1981, to teach diploma courses in hospitality and tourism management. The tourist inflow increased to 1.8 million in 1981 and then to 5.5 million in 2000. Tourists arrivals reached a pinnacle in 2010 by reaching 14.7 million visitors.^[2][4] Revenues from tourism reached the highest point at $12.6 billion in the fiscal year 2018–2019. In the year 2020, tourism-related revenues dropped nearly seventy percent to $4 billion. Citing the Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khaled El-Enany, Egypt's tourist arrivals plunged to 3.5 million in 2020.^[5] In February 2022, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva in a publication disclosed that Egypt's tourism sector was the biggest loser from the coronavirus outbreak.^[6]

During the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, the number of visitors plummeted by over 37 percent, falling from 14 million in 2010 to 9 million by the end of 2011. This has impacted a diverse range of businesses directly or indirectly dependent on tourism, from travel accommodation and tourist attractions to car rental and air transportation, as well as health and wellness industries. Tour operators offering heavy discounts to encourage tourists back have been somewhat successful at the Red Sea resorts where prices remain lower compared to 2011.^[7]

In the first half of 2014, the number of tourists further declined by 25 percent compared with the same period in 2013, while revenues also shrank by 25 percent.^[3][8]

In 2013, Egypt ranked 85th as the world's best country in terms of tourism and traveling, falling ten places from its ranking of 75 in 2011. However, it regained some ground in the 2017 rankings being rated 75th overall.^[9][10] As of the 2019 rankings, Egypt ranks 65th overall.^[11]

Israelis can cross into Egypt for 14 days without a visa at certain areas near Taba. They mostly come to enjoy areas on the Red Sea Riviera.^[12] In 2017, the first group of Israelis visited the more popular tourist attractions with the aid of strong security. It had been 18 months since any group of Israeli tourists had visited Egypt.^[13]

In 2017, Bloomberg said Egypt has "shed its years of social and political unrest" and made the top 20 list of 2017 travel destinations.^[14] The latest United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has revealed that Egypt is one of the world's fast-growing tourist destination. In 2017, the number rose to 8 million tourists compared to the previous year which was about 5.26 million.^[15]

The tasks of tourism security in Egypt are carried out by the General Administration of Tourism and Antiquities Police, which is responsible for developing plans to secure tourists and protect antiquities, museums, and cultural facilities within the framework of the general plan of the Egyptian Ministry of Interior. In order to fulfill the components of that mission, the administration secures the movement of tourist groups by closely monitoring or accompanying tour groups, securing tourist and archaeological facilities and sites, securing tourist and Nile cruises, combating crimes that tourists may be exposed to and archaeological crimes, following-up with tourism companies and shops and receiving notifications of tourists' complaints against them, providing police rescue vehicles that ensure a security presence in all tourist cities, and addressing cases of trespassing. Given Egypt's Middle Eastern and African status, and its location in the midst of a regional conflict zone, it has been subject to several unfortunate terrorist incidents, the most famous of which are:^[16][17]

• the 1997 Luxor massacre
• the 2004 Sinai bombings
• the Cairo incident in 2005
• the Sharm el-Sheikh incident in 2005
• the Dahab incident in 2006
• the downing of Metrojet Flight 9268

All these incidents have combined to negatively affected the tourism sector. However, during the 2010s and especially after the most recent 2017 Hurghada attack, tourism returned and regained its activity quickly to achieve high annual revenues.^[18]

Most tourists arriving in Egypt in 2019 came from the following territories:^[23]

Most tourists to Egypt came from the following countries

Country	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014
Germany	1,302,240	423,272	352,845	1,729,051	1,707,382	1,232,343	653,915	1,020,879	877,228
Russia	1,010,921	1,115,468	80,643	264,108	145,642	93,992	53,864	2,389,882	3,138,958
Saudi Arabia	799,560	501,813	150,886	891,626	909,092	669,574	507,325	433,067	350,109
Israel	640,180	168,175	37,855	530,226	405,399	234,986	234,676	161,035	140,425
Italy	528,269	85,063	95,804	619,425	421,992	225,148	131,458	332,932	400,356
United Kingdom	506,460	109,398	114,651	455,614	435,772	319,388	231,299	869,481	905,713
United States	428,448	233,376	118,079	349,596	287,796	226,429	184,341	188,712	154,619
Poland	420,832	286,723	111,289	413,892	303,720	177,433	67,231	207,253	302,815
France	310,126	150,989	89,218	298,812	217,533	150,241	101,075	136,623	144,766
Ukraine	242,766	1,402,460	741,947	1,551,680	1,174,234	797,270	425,000	363,586	446,450
Libya	298,319	250,125	135,584	440,309	410,659	336,370	282,845	268,541	210,957
Palestine	222,171	134,699	47,993	163,630	136,010	73,855	68,344	62,240	114,057
Kuwait	190,430	69,281	39,939	164,873	164,532	176,629	150,352	139,666	120,882
Netherlands	184,846	55,645	65,024	218,527	189,679	151,791	82,823	150,422	126,817
Jordan	178,962	120,226	42,450	203,603	208,283	211,842	179,827	177,131	170,783
Kazakhstan	150,726	180,810	58,145	156,591	133,015	69,570	6,571	22,998	15,106
Austria	140,521	50,466	32,823	173,720	164,696	122,916	67,541	144,772	130,522
Switzerland	136,112	85,352	33,758	119,541	110,405	75,403	46,089	90,483	80,389
Belgium	121,681	34,015	31,488	148,974	136,891	95,725	50,591	92,010	74,246
Syria	103,073	78,668	31,000	64,268	65,803	63,687	53,662	52,281	63,081
Lithuania	58,814	43,536	31,138	90,946	69,907	42,632	17,216	31,780	30,856
China	58,116	31,301	44,173	214,202	234,747	287,260	179,459	115,158	61,697
Belarus	56,920	247,219	135,156	327,332	273,987	162,481	53,972	149,641	166,550
Iraq	52,450	52,083	43,110	94,702	104,805	90,922	76,578	47,533	49,986
Total Foreigner	11,724,065	7,997,917	3,676,359	13,026,441	11,346,389	8,292,326	5,398,934	9,327,804	9,877,762

In 2020, Egypt's tourism revenue dropped by about 70% to US$4 billion, reducing tourist arrivals to 3.5 million from 13.1 million in 2019. As stated by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), Egypt's revenues from tourism for the months of 2020-2021 fiscal year plunged by 67.4%.^[24] According to Khaled al-Anani, the average number of tourists who visited Egypt in April 2021 is nearly half of the average monthly number of 2019.^[25]

The highest number of tourist arrivals to Egypt in 2019 (before the international Coronavirus pandemic) was from Germany (2.5 million arrivals) followed by Ukraine (1.5 million), Saudi Arabia (1.4 million) and Libya (0.75 million).^[26]

Major tourist destinations include the millennia-old monuments in the Nile Valley. Principal among them are the Pyramids and Great Sphinx at Giza, the Abu Simbel temples south of Aswan and the Karnak Temple Complex and Valley of the Kings near Luxor. Attractions in Cairo include the Cairo Museum and the Mosque of Muhammad Ali Pasha. The coast of the Sinai Peninsula has well-visited seaside resorts, in addition to Hurghada City on the Red Sea coast and the Famous El Gouna Resort 25 km Hurghada.^[27]

• Giza, 20 km southwest of Cairo, has several remains from the 26th century BC such as temples and monuments to pharaohs including the Great Sphinx, and the Great Pyramids of Giza.
• Saqqara, 30 km south of Cairo is a vast, ancient burial ground which served as the necropolis for the Ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis. It features numerous pyramids, including the world's oldest standing step pyramid, as well as a number of mastabas.
• Luxor, about 500 km south of Cairo, is the site of the ancient city of Thebes. It includes the ruins of the temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor, which stand within the modern city. On the opposite side of the Nile River lie the monuments, temples and tombs on the West Bank Necropolis, which include the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens.

• Abu Simbel, about 850 km south of Cairo (near the Egypt–Sudan border) is an archaeological site comprising two massive rock temples originally carved out of a mountainside during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II (13th century BC). The complex was relocated in its entirety in the 1960s to avoid being submerged during the creation of Lake Nasser. They are now situated on an artificial hill made from a domed structure high above the Aswan High Dam reservoir.
• Alexandria is a main summer resort, due to its beaches, ancient history and Museums, especially the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a modern project based on reviving the ancient Library of Alexandria.
• Sinai Peninsula- Sinai has the beach resorts of Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba as well as locations mentioned in the Bible such as Mount Sinai ("Jabal Musa"). Saint Catherine's Monastery may be the oldest working Christian monastery in the world.
• Ain Sukhna, about 110 km east of Cairo has a number of beach resorts.
• Assiut, in south of Egypt, has historic buildings from the time of the pharaohs and ancient mosques.
• Hurghada and El Gouna resort on the Red Sea Coast, 25 km from Hurghada International Airport, are both famous for their beaches, snorkeling and diving,^{[citation needed]} and El Gouna is famous for its nightlife.^{[citation needed]}

The civilization of Ancient Egypt left many monuments and temples that have become attractions for modern-day visitors to Egypt. These include:

Pyramids: there are more than 70 pyramids along the Nile, with the three pyramids of Giza being the best-known. The Sphinx, a lion-bodied guard, stands beside pyramids in Giza. The pyramids were built more than 4,000 years ago in the eras of Kings Cheops, Kefren and Mykerinos. These three kings' bodies were buried within the pyramids. The pyramid of Cheops is the largest at 145 meters in height, and is referred to as the Great Pyramid.

Saqqara Complex: The vast necropolis of Saqqara including Memphis is located 24 kilometers south of central Cairo. Memphis was founded in about 3000 BC by Menes, along with 11 other pyramids. Memphis was the administrative capital of ancient Egypt. Saqqara has Zoser's funerary complex, Mereruka's tomb and the Serapeum, a complex of subterranean vaults that housed mummified Apis bulls, some in gargantuan granite coffins.

Valley of the Kings in Thebes: Due to theft from tombs within pyramids, 26 pharaohs of the eighteenth to twentieth dynasties including Tutankhamun, Ramses the Great and Tuthmosis III had their tombs carved into the rock of the Valley of Kings. There are further tombs in the Valley of the Queens.

Cruises are offered along the Nile ranging from short tours between Luxor and Aswan to longer cruises that include the northern town of Dendera.

In the past, it used to work all the way from Cairo to Aswan for more than two weeks, but due to the development of the Nile, they stopped doing Nile Cruises all the way from Cairo, and it is now working from Luxor to Aswan except few Nile Cruises that started again to do long Cruise from Cairo to Aswan.

Nile cruising started during the early 19th century when Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt made his journey up and down the Nile.^[28] The late 19th century saw the publication of a novel written by a Miss Edwards. The novel, titled The Nile and its Monuments, details the various historical sites see along the river during Nile cruises.^[29]

Many cruises are aboard a larger vessel that functions as a floating hotel. Other Nile trips can be on a felucca, a traditional sailboat, on which overnight journeys may require passengers to sleep in the open air on deck and the sailors to double as cooks.

Between October and mid April the daytime temperatures are cooler and the Nile’s locks are open. From around the middle of April locks on the river are closed in order to manage water levels, requiring passengers to disembark on one side of the lock and transfer to another boat on the other side.

Passports and visas are required of foreign visitors except natives of several Middle Eastern countries. Travelers native to most of Africa must have proof of cholera and yellow fever vaccination.^[27]

There are nine international airports in Egypt that serve all of the county's major cities including Cairo International Airport, Sphinx Airport, Sohag Airport and Taba International Airport.^[30]

Cairo International Airport is the main gateway to Egypt and is located about 15 miles northeast of the city in northern Egypt. Cairo's three terminals receive flights from all major world cities including those in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Central Cairo is accessible from the airport by bus, taxi, or limousine.

Located in central Egypt, Luxor International Airport serves the Nile Valley and acts as a gateway to tourist destinations of the region. It has connections from the UK, Germany, Russia, France, Italy, and Turkey. Two terminals serve international and domestic flights, with a number of Egyptian carriers including Air Cairo and Egypt Air operating from the airport. The airport is located close to the city centre and taxis, limos and regular buses are available for transfers into the city.

Egyptian Railways is the backbone of passenger transportation in Egypt, with 800 million passenger miles annually.^[31]

Air-conditioned passenger trains usually have 1st and 2nd class service, while trains without air condition will have 2nd and 3rd class. Most of the network connects the densely populated area of the Nile Delta with Cairo and Alexandria as hubs.

The Alexandria-Cairo-Luxor-Aswan link is served daily in both directions by air-conditioned sleeper trains of Abela Egypt. This service is especially attractive to tourists who can spend the night on the train as it covers the stretch between Cairo and Luxor. A luxury express train also connects Cairo with Marsa Matruh towards the Egypt–Libya border.

1 Egyptian pound obverse

1 Egyptian pound reverse

The currency of Egypt is the Egyptian pound (E£ or ج.م – abbreviated to "LE" or "L.E." – livre égyptienne, "Egyptian pound" in French). The pound is divided into 100 piastres. The approximate official exchange rate for US$1 is E£15.75 as of April 2020. The Central Bank of Egypt controls the circulation of currency. As of May 2009, the currency notes in circulation have denominations of E£200, E£100, E£50, E£20, E£10, E£5, E£1 and 50 PT. and 25 PT.^[32]

There is no limit on the amount of currency which the visitors may bring to Egypt, however, they must declare the currency and amount upon arrival and departure with bank receipts. There may be restrictions on the amount of currency that can be taken outside of Egypt, and generally it should not exceed E£5,000.^[33][34]

Peak tourist season in Egypt runs from mid October to May, during winter and spring. From May until October daytime temperatures are relatively high, especially in Luxor and the southern parts of the country.

Egypt is one of the hottest and sunniest countries in the world. With the exception of a strip along the Mediterranean coast, Egypt has a desert climate, being entirely within the Sahara. The Mediterranean coastal strip has an average annual rainfall of 100–200 mm. In central and southern Egypt several years may pass without any significant rain.

Winters are generally warm in the south of Egypt, but temperatures fall abruptly at night, especially in the desert. In summer southern Egypt is very hot with low air humidity.^[35]

• Major Egyptian sites
• 
  The Egyptian Museum
• 
  Philae
• 
  The Sphinx
• 
  Djoser Step Pyramid
• 
  Cairo Tower
• 
  Qaitbay Citadel in Alexandria
• 
  Pompey's Pillar in Alexandria
• 
  Saint Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai
• 
  Al-Mahmeya, a National Protected Park in Hurghada
• 
  Al-Azhar Mosque, built in the Fatimid era in Cairo
• 
  The Mosque of Mohamed Ali Pasha in Cairo
• 
  The Mosque of the Imam Al-Husayn, the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammed in Cairo
• 
  The Great Pyramids of Giza in Giza
• 
  The Luxor Temple in Luxor
• 
  Temple of Ramesses II in Abu Simbel
• 
  Temple of Nefertari in Abu Simbel
• 
  Archangel Michael's Coptic Orthodox Church in Coptic Style in Aswan
• 
  Dahab, Sinai is one of the popular beach and diving resorts in Egypt

• Cultural tourism in Egypt
• Visa policy of Egypt

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Egypt.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tourism in Egypt.

• Egyptian Tourism – Official government tourism agency
• Direct Nile Cruise Egypt Trusted Agency for Egypt Nile Cruises.