Egypt experienced a significant increase in hotel room capacity during the first quarter of 2024, according to Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa.
A total of 4,012 new hotel rooms, including both fixed and floating accommodation, were added or reopened across Egypt in this period, bringing the country’s total hotel room count to 222,716 by the end of March.
The introduction and operation of these new hotel rooms not only expanded lodging options but also created numerous direct and indirect employment opportunities.
These developments were discussed during a regular meeting overseen by the minister, which also covered upcoming plans to open and operate an additional 25,000 hotel rooms by the end of 2024.
Issa underscored the importance of implementing an accurate and consistent monitoring system to track the number of hotel rooms and occupancy rates, whether on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. This practice is considered crucial for enhancing performance and achieving the objectives outlined in the National Tourism Strategy in Egypt.
The recent increase in new hotel rooms can be categorised into two groups. The first category pertains to the creation of new capacity, with a total of 2,767 new hotel rooms added during the specified period. This includes the launch of 11 new hotels with a combined capacity of 1,503 rooms, as well as expansions to existing hotel facilities, resulting in an additional 1,264 rooms.
The second category involves hotel rooms that were temporarily closed and subsequently reopened and operated between the beginning of the year and the end of March. This totaled 1,245 hotel rooms across various star categories in the governorates of Cairo, the Red Sea, South Sinai, and Luxor, as well as certain floating hotel facilities.
The meeting also addressed the anticipated opening and operation of hotel rooms in the upcoming period, along with the latest developments in initiatives aimed at fostering and enhancing the hotel investment climate in Egypt.
Additionally, the meeting covered the presentation of hotel occupancy rates during the first quarter of the year in tourist cities across different governorates, which averaged 54.78 per cent—a nearly 8 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2023, when it stood at 47.20 per cent.
Furthermore, the meeting highlighted the notable rise in the number of tourist establishments, such as restaurants, cafeterias, bazaars, diving centres, marine activities, safari yachts, and mountain safari centres between March 2023 and March 2024.
During this period, 67 tourist restaurants were added, bringing the total to 1,490, along with 493 bazaars. Moreover, the count of diving centres increased by 32, reaching a total of 344, and 37 marine activities centres were added, taking the total to 241. The number of safari yachts grew by 8, reaching 208, while 17 mountain safari centres were added.
