More striking numbers on Egypt tourism sector growth
Egypt’s tourism sector grew 24 per cent in the past fiscal year, according to the country’s minister for economic development, Osman Mohamed Osman. Recently released Central Bank figures show that Egypt recorded a balance of payments surplus of $5.4 billion in the year up to June - up from $5.2 billion a year earlier; and net services and transfer revenue from tourism jumped 32.3 per cent to $10.8 billion, whilst revenue from the Suez Canal rose 23.6 per cent to $5.2 billion due to an increase in shipping through the waterway and an increase in tonnage.
The World Travel and Tourism Council expects the sector to rise from 16.1 per cent of GDP this year to 17.3 per cent by 2018 – equivalent to $39.5 billion and to account for one in every seven jobs. Export earnings from foreign visitors are expected to generate $12.9 billion this year, rising to over $20 billion in 10 years’ time.
With Egypt targeting to lure around 14 million tourists by the end of 2011, the report estimates that the country needs to build 240,000 hotel rooms by then and that this will require an annual investment of over $1 billion. This represents a huge opportunity for infrastructure developers, particularly hotel groups.
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