Egypt's tourism boom offers respite from foreign currency woes, Gaza war
Egyptian tourism revenues and the number of holidaymakers visiting reached record highs in 2023 but will unlikely be enough to cure Cairo’s financial problems.
Egyptian tourism revenues and the number of holidaymakers visiting reached record highs in 2023, bringing in much-needed hard currency to the economy, but experts say that this boom won’t be enough to help the country recover from its current financial malaise.
Revenues reached a record $15 billion, and inbound tourism reached 14.9 million last year, according to local reports, as the government took steps to ensure both the safety of tourists amid the war in neighboring Gaza and that the North African country rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The numbers were published by Daily News Egypt, citing Said El Batouty, professor of international macroeconomics and tourism economics at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, and EU economic and travel official.
Batouty said that Egypt welcomed 14.9 million holidaymakers in 2023, surpassing the peak of 14.7 million in 2010.
