New 25,000 hotel rooms to open in next few months: Tourism Minister

Minister of Tourism and Antiquities in Egypt, Ahmed Issa, has announced the opening of 25,000 new hotel rooms in the coming months. The revelation was made at the Cairo CFO Summit 2023 where Issa was a keynote speaker. The minister highlighted the substantial growth opportunities within the country's tourism sector, specifically pointing to the hotel industry which will play a significant part in achieving the target of 400,000 hotel rooms by the end of 2028. Plans to introduce an array of incentives to stimulate private sector investment in new hotel room construction were also announced. During his speech, Issa gave an overview of strategies and targets for Egypt's tourism industry through to 2028, stressing the importance of the national strategy for tourism development in the country. He outlined the industry's goals, including an ambitious target of welcoming 30 million tourists by 2028. Egypt anticipates receiving 15 million tourists this year, aiming to double this figure in five years. Issa noted that increasing the number of hotel rooms will provide not just accommodation solutions but will also generate employment opportunities and stimulate economic growth within the tourism sector. Earlier in the month, the Central Bank of Egypt reported a 26.8% increase in the country's tourism revenues, amounting to $13.6 billion in FY2022/2023, up from $10.7 billion in FY2021/2022. The report also highlighted a 35.6% increase in inbound tourists, approximately 13.9 million individuals, and a 27.6% increase in nights spent by tourists, culminating in a total of 146.1 million nights in FY2022/2023.