Tourism in Egypt

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Pyramids of Giza

The tourism in Egypt plays an important economic role and is one of the main sources of income of the country. In 2018, Egypt was visited by over 13 million foreign guests, making the country the most visited in Africa after Morocco and South Africa . The tourism industry employs 2.5 million people (9.4% of all jobs) and contributes 29.6 billion US dollars to the gross domestic product (5.6% of total economic output). It also brings the country important foreign exchange income, as Egypt has an industry that is otherwise not very competitive in global competition and has a high trade deficit .

basis

Due to the rich history of the country, a high number of attractions and the geographical proximity to Europe , tourism in Egypt has excellent foundations. Regions where tourism is concentrated are the coastal areas on the Red Sea , large cities and sites of special tourist interest such as the Pyramids of Giza or the temples of Abu Simbel . The Nile is also increasingly being developed for tourism. The main season in Egypt is from mid-October to May, when temperatures are most comfortable. Most international tourists reach the country through its 9 international airports.

The previous governments have given tourism high priority as an instrument of national development. The poor security situation and ongoing political instability in the country are proving to be problematic. The Federal Foreign Office is currently (as of June 2019) issuing a partial travel warning and is urging increased caution. Travel to northern Sinai and the border with Gaza and Israel is not recommended due to the poor security situation.

In the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 of the World Economic Forum, Egypt ranks 74th out of 136 countries.

history

The number of tourists in Egypt was 100,000 in 1951. Tourism was specifically promoted as an important branch of the economy from the 1970s. During this time, Egypt began to relax visa restrictions for almost all European and North American countries and to attract travelers with advertising campaigns. In 1976 tourism was at the center of the government's five-year plan, which allocated 12% of the budget to modernizing state-owned hotels, setting up a loan fund for private hotels, and upgrading infrastructure (including road, rail and rail). Air connectivity has also been improved for the main tourist centers along the coast.

In 1979 tourism experts and consultants from Turkey were brought in , and with Turkish help, several new universities were set up between 1979 and 1981 to offer diploma courses in gastronomy and tourism management . The number of tourists rose to 1.8 million in 1981 and 5.1 million in 2000. The first setbacks came from politically motivated attacks on tourists, which began with the first serious attack in Luxor in 1997 with 62 dead. Other incidents occurred in Sinai in 2004, in Cairo and Sharm el-Sheikh in 2005, in Dahab in 2006 and in Hurghada in 2017, all of which damaged the country's reputation as a travel destination. In 2015, Egyptian security forces mistakenly killed 12 tourists belonging to a tour group from Mexico .

Tourism peaked in 2010 with 14.7 million visitors. The unrest in the context of the revolution in Egypt in 2011 was a major setback , although most tourist destinations were not affected by the riots. The number of visitors this year fell by over 37% from 14 million in 2010 to 9 million at the end of 2011. Another blow was the military coup two years later. In 2016, the number of tourists fell by almost two thirds compared to 2010, which led to significant economic upheavals in this sector. A consolidation phase began in 2016 and the number of tourists began to rise again.

Key figures

Tourist arrivals and revenues experienced a constant expansion until 2010 and then fluctuated greatly depending on the security situation. Most of the foreign tourists in the country come from European countries (mostly Russia , Great Britain and Germany ) as well as other Arab countries.

year Number of international guests revenue
1995 2,871,000 $ 2,056 million
2000 5,116,000 $ 4,657 million
2001 4,357,000 $ 4,119 million
2002 4,906,000 $ 4,133 million
2003 5,746,000 $ 4,704 million
2004 7,795,000 $ 6,328 million
2005 8,244,000 $ 7,206 million
2006 8,646,000 $ 8,133 million
2007 10,610,000 $ 10,327 million
2008 12,296,000 $ 12,104 million
2009 11,914,000 $ 11,757 million
2010 14,051,000 $ 13,633 million
2011 9,497,000 $ 9,333 million
2012 11,196,000 $ 10,823 million
2013 9,174,000 $ 6,747 million
2014 9,628,300 $ 7,979 million
2015 9,139,000 $ 6,897 million
2016 5,258,000 $ 3,306 million
2017 8,157,000 $ 8,636 million
2018 11,300,000
2019 13,000,000

Major tourist destinations

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Egypt tourism 'fastest growing' in North Africa. July 15, 2019, accessed July 15, 2019 .
  2. Gehad Medhat: 20 Unmissable Attractions in Egypt. Retrieved July 15, 2019 .
  3. Airports in Egypt. Retrieved July 15, 2019 .
  4. Foreign Office: Foreign Office - Egypt: Travel and Security Advice. Retrieved July 15, 2019 .
  5. The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017. Accessed July 1, 2017 .
  6. https://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2015-09/aeggypt-touristengruppe-islamischer-staat
  7. Mohamed Negm: History of Tourism in Egypt from 2010-2017, Challenges and Future Opportunities | The Middle East Observer. Retrieved July 15, 2019 (UK English).
  8. Tourists are returning to Egypt after years of staying away. Retrieved July 15, 2019 .
  9. Where Do Egypt's Tourists Come From? In: Scoop Empire. November 25, 2014. Retrieved July 15, 2019 (American English).
  10. International tourism, number of arrivals. Retrieved July 15, 2019 .
  11. International tourism, receipts (current US $). Retrieved January 13, 2019 .