Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa met Monday evening with Saudi Commerce Minister Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi and a delegation of Saudi investors and businessmen.
The meeting came within the framework of the ministerial meetings held during the Saudi-Egyptian Business Forum, which was held in Cairo to discuss ways to enhance joint cooperation between the two countries.
In his words, Issa spoke about the growth achieved by the industry in Egypt this year. He also tackled the increase in the average volume of hotel occupancy, as it is now witnessing its highest levels.
He added that this was also reflected in the increase in the average price of hotel room accommodation this year. “It is considered the highest year in the history of Egypt and higher than 2019, which is the peak year,” he said.
He said that the Saudi market is among the top five countries exporting traffic to Egypt during this period.
Issa said that Egypt had only 212,000 hotel rooms until last year, and by the end of 2024 it is expected that the number of hotel rooms will reach 250,000 rooms. There are 25,000 rooms expected to open during the next few months.
“A package of incentives and facilities for investment in Egypt is scheduled to be announced in the coming weeks, in cooperation and coordination with the Minister of Finance,” he added.
Issa said that the tourism products that the Ministry is focusing on during the current period are tourism of culture, adventure especially diving, beach, and family.
“The product combines cultural and recreational tourism together, in addition to tourists who are looking for an integrated tourism experience with multiple experiences and tourist types,” Issa added.
Minister Al Qasabi spoke about the tremendous tourism potential that Egypt enjoys, whether historical through its many archaeological sites or natural features such as beaches, the Nile, desert and rural tourism.
“Many Saudi tourists in particular, and Gulf tourists in general, are keen to visit Egypt,” he said.
Al Qasabi also highlighted his country’s keenness to work to increase investments in the Egyptian hospitality industry.
During the meeting, the possibility of benefiting from tourism investment opportunities in Egypt and the importance of expanding investment in the field of hotel apartments in Egypt.
Issa commented that work is underway on this file to establish smart and fair controls and standards to regulate the work of these hotel apartments.
During the meeting, the importance of developing integrated tourism programmes between Egypt and Saudi Arabia was discussed, in addition to the interest in joint promotion of the Arab regional tourism product.
Egypt plans to achieve growth in the tourism industry, with rates ranging between 25%-30% annually and to reach 30 million tourists by 2028. It also aims to increase the participation and empowerment of the private sector that leads this industry.
