Government initiatives, devalued currency help Egypt’s hotel industry flourish
Egypt remains ahead of the curve in hotel development in Africa, and its government’s efforts to boost the flow of foreign visitors in the coming years could keep the country flourishing as a hub of activity.
The investment and development push has been in the making for Egypt's hospitality industry for the past several years.
“Egypt’s hotel industry has experienced a solid rebound following the COVID-19 pandemic, attracting significant investment and witnessing a surge in inventory,” said Maximilian Quack, JLL's senior vice president of hotels and hospitality for the Middle East and Asia.
Egypt welcomed 15.7 million arrivals in 2024, which surpassed 2019’s pre-pandemic peak, Quack said.
Egypt has a development pipeline of 143 hotels and 33,926 rooms, according to the Hotel Development Pipeline Report by W Hospitality Group. That's four times the number of hotel rooms in development in second-place Morocco (8,579 rooms in 58 hotels).
Egypt’s capital Cairo is experiencing a massive hospitality industry boom, with the report adding it has 70 hotels and 17,757 rooms in the pipeline, four times as many as Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt’s key beach resort, where only 10 hotels and 4,321 rooms are set to open.
In addition to Cairo and Sharm el-Sheikh, major Egyptian destinations such as Luxor, Aswan and the Red Sea resorts of Hurghada have reported strong occupancy, with hotel operators optimistic about continued growth despite increasing hotel supply, Quack added.
Business has been strong for Kerten Hospitality, which manages eight hotels across Egypt, said CEO Marloes Knippenberg.
“We have seen steady growth in occupancy and rates, driven by the rising demand for authentic, experience-led stays,” she said.
Meanwhile, hotel occupancy levels have been slower to recover for Orascom Hotels Management — a subsidiary of Orascom Development Group — which operates 35 hotels in eight destinations across Egypt, said CEO Stuart Leven.
“We have successfully regained our pre-COVID revenue levels. However, occupancy rates have yet to fully match those recorded prior to the pandemic,” Leven said. “Encouragingly, current trends point to steady progress.”
According to CoStar hospitality data, average hotel occupancy of branded hotels in Egypt in 2024 was 64.5%, which lagged behind 64.8% occupancy in 2023 and 66.9% occupancy in 2019. Hotel average daily rate has climbed from 1,328.41 Egyptian pounds ($27.25) in 2019 to 3,354.75 Egyptian pounds in 2023 and 4,964.97 Egyptian pounds in 2024. Revenue per available room has followed a similar path, moving up from 888.51 Egyptian pounds in 2019 to 2,172.81 Egyptian pounds in 2023 and 3,203.28 Egyptian pounds in 2024.
Egypt devalued its pound in 2023 by approximately 40% and since floated the currency.