A total of 11 million tourists are expected to have visited Egypt by the end of 2015; a 30 percent increase compared to last year, member of the Federation of Chambers of Tourism Hossam al-Shaer was quoted by Youm7 Tuesday.
“If the monthly increase in the number of tourists visiting Egypt continues by the same levels, I imagine there will be a full recovery in the sector,” Shaer said, adding that the tourism revenue is expected to reach $ 9.2 billion in 2015.
The tourism industry witnessed its peak in 2010, with $13.8 billion in revenues, but unrest following the 2011 revolution has kept many tourists away.
The number of tourists visiting Egypt increased by 4.4 percent in 2014, registering 9.9 million holidaymakers compared with 9.4 million from the previous year, according to a report by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.
Egypt depends on tourism for around 20 percent of its hard currency. Revenues from tourism, comprising 11.3 percent of Egypt’s gross domestic product (GDP), witnessed a sharp decline in the aftermath of the political instability following Egypt’s 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.
In 2012, 11.5 million tourists visited Egypt, bringing in $10 billion while in 2011, and despite the upheaval of the revolution, 9.8 million tourists visited the country bringing in $8.8 billion, according to the Tourism Ministry.
