Latest in Tourism Highlight
Latest in Tourism

Egypt’s Red Sea gem: Sharm El-Sheikh grappling with tourism decline
While domestic and Arab tourism attempts to fill the void left behind by foreign travellers, the Red Sea resort city continues to grapple with the adjustment to tourism’s decline

Pyramids archaeological development project 70% complete, scheduled for opening before year’s end
The new Visitors Centre will have a theatre to play a short introductory documentary for visitors

51.2% decline in operational tourist vehicles in 5 years due to industry recession: ETAA
Capital spending on buses, safari vehicles, maintenance stations, garages reaches EGP 1.6bn over past few years

Egyptians push growth of Sharm El-Sheikh hotel occupancies, tourist workers
South Sinai has 65,000 hotel rooms; Egypt has a total of 225,000 operational rooms distributed across governorates of the Red Sea, Greater Cairo and South of Upper Egypt

Saudi government asks tourism companies to pay transportation fees for pilgrim to holy sites: ETAA
Request not limited to just Egyptian pilgrims, but extends to all pilgrims worldwide, says ETAA official

France: Hotel stays drop due to attacks
The number of nights spent in French hotels by foreign tourists in July was down 10 percent from last year. Visitors from outside Europe have been deterred by recent Islamist militant attacks.

Tourism Ministry launches its new website Sunday
Tourism accounted for 11.3% of GDP in 2011, but has been declining over the past five years amid political turmoil

Preparations underway to participate in WTM London in November: Egypt Tourism Authority
The authority determined the cost of participation in this year’s exhibition to be €2,530, but tourism companies and the Egyptian Travel Agents Association demanded that it be decreased by 50%

Cairo’s occupancy levels for next 3 months forecasted at 58%: Colliers International
No expected recovery for Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh in the short term

Increase in hotel occupancy in Cairo, Alexandria reflects change in tourists’ views of both cities
Occupancy rate of hotel rooms in Cairo expected to reach 58%, so a single room’s income would reach 96%, which is the highest rate of return in Egypt

The Grand Egyptian Museum: an exclusive tour by Daily News Egypt
Established on 117 feddans, the Grand Egyptian Museum is set to be the world’s largest museum, with the main exhibition built on a third of its total area. The museum includes facilities, entertainment, and commercial buildings next to the museum garden, all of which make the museum a new monument by itself—ready to welcome 8 …

Tourism Development Authority prepares for IFTM Top Resa exhibition in September
Egyptian companies have been allocated a space at the exhibition and participation for a company or hotel should cost €1150, says Ministry of Tourism

Bright Sky Travel expects 50% decline in tourist arrivals to Egypt in 2016: chairperson
Blue Sky Group will begin marketing campaigns in Eastern Europe, especially in Poland and the Czech Republic during the coming period

Flights may be rescheduled to New Valley subject to demand: ETAA official
Hotel capacity in Upper Egypt totals approximately 25,000 rooms, most of which are in Luxor and Aswan, and floating hotels there have more than 17,000 rooms, according to Ministry of Tourism

Construction of Grand Egyptian Museum to be completed by year’s end and partially opened in mid-2017: Minister of Antiquities
Museum of Islamic Art will be reopened this month and the Museum of Malawi next month

Should I go? The impact of government advisories for travelers to Europe
Countries worldwide are urging their citizens travelling to Europe to be vigilant in the wake of recent terror attacks. While many travelers are reconsidering their destinations, on the whole tourism is still growing.

Nice attack hits tourism
The carnage on Nice’s famed seaside boulevard as the summer season got into full swing has sent shockwaves through France’s tourism industry, a vital sector for the economy of the world’s most-visited country.

Calm atmosphere in Turkish coastal resorts
Some 200,000 Germans are said to be holidaying in Turkey at the moment. The German Foreign Office warns tourists in Istanbul and Ankara to be extremely vigilant.

Cairo hotels’ revenue per available room expected to grow by 22% during June to August y-o-y
Colliers expects that the occupancy rate in Hurghada will be 5% more than that in Sharm El-Sheikh from June to August

Supreme Council of Antiquities lowers cinematography fees by 50% at archaeological sites: Chamber of Tourism Companies
Tourism income declined by about $835m during the first five months of this year, a decrease of 62% year-over-year

Hotels launch offers to attract holidaymakers in summer: tourism experts
Average occupancy rates up to 30% in Cairo, 50% on the Red Sea, 40% in South Sinai, more than 80% in Alexandria and at the North Coast

State’s administrative system moves slowly to cure tourism crisis: interview with Abdel Rahman Al-Anwar
Floating hotels incur an annual loss exceeding $1.5bn, which is a great loss that negatively impacts the number of hotel employees, especially in Upper Egypt, says the deputy chairperson of the Floating Hotels Investors Association

Plans to restructure Supreme Council of Tourism: prime minister
Ministers and governors met to discuss plans aimed at advancing the economy by improving tourism

51.7% fewer tourists in May: CAPMAS
61.3% decline in Russian tourists; Saudis account for 31.2% of total tourists coming to Egypt from the Middle East

Tourism – out of the shadow of terror?
Morocco – like Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt – has suffered a dip in tourism figures after terror attacks. Visitor numbers are still dropping, even five years after the last attack in the North African country.

Al Ahram Beverages sales affected by decline in tourism
The devaluation of the Egyptian pound also increased beverage prices by 10%

Hotels, resorts promote special offers in bid to attract Egyptians during Eid Al-Fitr
Egyptian families prefer Ain Sokhna and Alexandria due to their proximity to Cairo compared to Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh

South Sinai hotels buy 80% less soft drinks in past seven months: suppliers
There is fierce competition among suppliers for Cairo hotels which have highest occupancy rates

UN World Tourism Organization: ‘Please don’t abandon Turkey’
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has called on the travel sector not to abandon Turkey after the attack on Istanbul’s Ataturk airport.

Thomas Cook extends flight ban to Sharm El-Sheikh until 2017
Egypt’s tourism sector has lost 62% in revenues over the past five months