Back to the complete issue
Sunday, 3 January 2021

Tourist arrivals plunge in pandemic year

The number of tourists to visit Egypt fell more than 70% y-o-y in 2020 to 3.6 mn, down from 13 mn in 2019, according to the Tourism Ministry’s annual newsletter. Tourism revenues plunged to USD 4 bn during the year, down from USD 13 bn in 2019, as average monthly receipts declined 85-92% due to covid. The majority of tourists (2.5 mn) visited the country in January and February before the pandemic ground the industry to a complete halt between March and July. Just 1.1 mn tourists visited the country in the second half of the year after authorities lifted travel restrictions.

In a parallel universe, tourism is booming: Tourist numbers were to have reached new record highs last year, possibly attracting some 15 mn people during the 12-month period. Then covid happened.

CORRECTION- An earlier version of this story listed the revenue figures in EGP, rather than USD.

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Etisalat Misr (tax ID: 235-071-579), the leading telecoms provider in Egypt; and Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt.