Rebirth in Tourism

While air-conditioned buses and low-cost carriers may be comparatively new, tourism in Egypt is anything but.

The great Greek traveller Herodotus first travelled here in the 5th century BC, followed shortly thereafter by his Arab successor, Ibn Battuta. Nor were they alone: Traders and pilgrims have been flocking to the lower reaches of the Nile Valley for centuries.

tIn 2010, the last year before the revolution, Egypt attracted 14.5 million foreign visitors — a bumper year by historical standards.

This is a similar number to destinations like Greece and Poland, and ranks it among the leading attractions in the region. However, this is still somewhat below the level of the world’s top tourism markets, who all welcome well north of 20 million visitors a year.

Egypt ranks among the top 30 tourism revenue-earning countries in absolute terms, despite this, there is a sense that the country has not achieved its potential in recent years.

Egypt could attract more visitors; Egypt could improve its infrastructure; Egypt could develop more higher value segments; and Egypt could cultivate tourism outside of its primary attractions.

Needless to say, it has been a challenging uphill battle to make any sort of progress in these areas over the past 24 months, due not only to the ongoing fallout of the post-Mubarak era but also to the sluggish global economy and the poor performance in Egypt’s core European markets.

Tourism is an important earner for Egypt — of that there is no doubt. According to the World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC), a global industry body, travel and tourism accounted for 6.7% of GDP directly in 2011.

However, the industry’s broader impact on the economy — direct, indirect and induced — adds up to more than twice that amount — 14.8% of GDP. Similarly, the WTTC suggests that the sector directly employed 1.35 million people in 2011, but that it supports 3.07 million jobs more broadly.