Travel and Tourism in Egypt

Apr 2011

Instability in the wake of the Egyptian revolution

At the end of January 2011 the country was hit by a wave of massive political protests, which came to be known as the Egyptian Revolution. The move led to the resignation of a 30 year long autocratic regime led by Hosni Mubarak. Despite some violence, the outcome of the revolution was rather positive, especially compared to other regional markets where the uprisings have dangerously degenerated like in Libya, Yemen and Bahrain. During the uprising, additional than 1 million tourists present in the country fled Egypt, and scepticism remains about how tourists will react during the upcoming transition period which is plagued by sectarian tensions and a difficult readjustment to democracy. Nonetheless, the long term repercussions could be additional than positive for Egypt, although some significant changes in terms of source markets may start to become visible.

Speedy recovery in 2010

After a sharp decline in 2009, Egypt’s inbound and outbound travel markets recovered to record positive increase rates in 2010, driven by improving economic conditions and dissipating concerns over the spread of the H1N1 virus. European and other source markets amount recorded positive increase in number of arrivals, with the fastest growing destinations coming from the GCC. Meanwhile, in the outbound travel category, departures to Saudi Arabia surged dramatically after a sharp decline caused by the H1N1 outbreak in 2009. The recovery of tourism flows led to a recovery across the board, in the travel accommodation, air transportation, car rental, travel retail and health and wellness categories, amount of which increased in price in 2010 after worrying declines in 2009. Egypt remains a highly competitive destination in terms of pricing. It is as well strategically located only a short distance away from Europe and the Middle East.

New increase from the GCC

Amount eyes are now turned to the GCC for next increase in Egypt’s travel and tourism industry. In 2010, Air Arabia increased the frequency of its flights to Arab cities, flydubai entered the market, EgyptAir introduced new routes to the GCC and Middle East, while travel retailers started targeting GCC residents additional entirely. This is a direct result of the Ministry of Tourism’s vision to grow the number of trips taken to Egypt by Arabs. A new advertising campaign targeting Arabs only was launched in early 2010 and its impact was visible, with close to 20% increase in arrivals from markets like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, and further increase from Jordan, Qatar and Syria.

Targeting luxury

Another key area targeted by Egypt for next increase is the luxury segment and high-end tourism. Egypt already has the infrastructure for luxury tourism, and is attractive to high spenders as luxury Nile cruises are highly sought after by wealthy regional and international tourists, and visits to the Giza Pyramids and other archaeological marvels can be expensive. In 2010, and even in 2009, the performance of luxury cruises and occupancy at luxury hotels proved that the high end of the market was less vulnerable than others during tough economic times, and this has further encouraged the government to better target this segment.

Creating a health and wellness destination

Egypt is emerging as additional and additional of a health and wellness destination, primarily for spa goers, but as well for medical tourists. The country has a history of health and wellness in addition to which it offers the ideal natural environment and resources for this type of tourism. Medical tourism actually generates higher revenues than spas, but the number of hotel and resort spas is growing at a fast rate and this area is proving highly attractive as well. The government has recognised the potential of medical tourism and has launched strategies and tools aimed at increasing this type of tourism. Meanwhile, several new hotel and resort spas opened in 2010, including the Kempinski Nile and the Mercato Hotel. Egypt is as well getting its first Senses Spa, which marks a significant development in the industry.