Egypt aims to attract 12 million tourists in the financial year 2019/2020, which is an 11 percent increase from the financial year 2018/2019, a government document seen by Reuters said.
The document also revealed that the government aims to increase the number of tourism nights spent in the country to 127 million, compared with 113 million tourism nights in financial year 2018/2019.
Tourism is a pillar of Egypt’s economy and a crucial source of hard currency.
The liberalization of the pound’s exchange rate in November 2016, which reduced the value of the local currency by half, has helped make the industry more competitive and enhanced Egypt’s attractiveness as a destination.
Egypt’s tourism revenues reached $11.4 billion in 2018, amounting to an increase of around 50 percent or $7.6 billion in 2017, according to Ministry of Tourism’s data.
Previously, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism Rania Al-Mashat disclosed that the government has done a lot in terms of investing in security infrastructure, which has contributed to a rebound in tourism.
The government is also working hand-in-hand with the private sector in order to attract more investments, renovate existing hotels, and establish new ones.
The Egyptian pound currency has strengthened nearly 7 percent against the dollar since the beginning of 2019, currently trading at around 16.5 against the dollar.
Egypt’s financial year runs from July to June.
($1 = 16.4800 Egyptian pounds)
Source: Reuters & Ahram Online
