The Central Agency for Public Reserves and Statistics (CAPMAS), the government’s official statistics body, has announced that the number of tourist arrivals to Egypt declined by 41.8 per cent during the first nine months of 2016, compared to the same period last year.
The total number of foreign visitors to Egypt amounted to 3.83 million tourists during the period from January to September 2016, down from 6.59 million tourists during the same period last year, according to a survey conducted by Anadolu Agency.
CAPMAS attributed the decline in Egypt’s tourist arrivals to the drop in the number of visitors from countries such as Russia, as well as Britain, Germany and Italy, all of whom traditionally provide the most tourists.
The number of tourist arrivals to Egypt in September this year stood at 473,000 tourists, down from 802,000 tourists during September 2015, CAPMAS said in a statement yesterday.
CAPMAS pointed out that the most important countries affecting the rate of decline were Russia, whose number of travellers to Egypt fell by 64.5 per cent, followed by the United Kingdom by 18.1 per cent, Germany by 13.1 per cent and Italy by 3.6 per cent.
Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said yesterday in parliament that the government is currently working to resolve the tourism crisis, saying “we are working in all directions to restore hope for the tourist sector which is vital to our foreign currency revenues.”
The collapse in Egypt’s vital tourism sector comes as the Egyptian authorities froze capital gains tax increases for a further three years, holding the rate at 10 per cent whilst providing exemptions for key industries in order to promote growth.
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