The number of Arab tourists visiting Egypt increased by 23 percent in May 2015 compared to the same month last year, Chairman of Tourism Promotion Authority (TPA) Sami Mahmoud told The Cairo Post Tuesday.
“Tourists from Kuwait topped the list with a 75-percent increase in the number of travelers, while the number of Saudi tourists increased by 58 percent. Likewise, the number of Emirati tourists rose by 43 percent,” Mahmoud said.
The notable increase is attributed to multiple promotion campaigns launched by TPA, tourism and antiquities ministries to attract more Arab tourists to Egypt, especially from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and UAE, he added.
Egypt’s tourism sector, which represents 11 percent of the country’s GDP, has been suffering from ongoing shocks ever since the 2011 uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.
Despite a few instances of apparent recovery, instability and political turmoil continue to challenge the sector.
The number of tourists visiting Egypt increased by nine percent in the first half of 2015 compared to the same period last year, Mahmoud was quoted by Al-Masry Al-Youm early July.
Hani Suleiman, Egyptian Hotel Chamber undersecretary in the South Sinai Governorate predicted a 90-percent hotel occupancy rate in the Red Sea resorts of Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada during Eid al-Fitr.
Egyptians are expected to account for over 70 percent of the said reservations, he added.
