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Egypt: $9bn loses due to drop in tourism after covid

Tourists are seen in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on August 7, 2017. Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is to invest more than $800 million in hotels in Egypt, the investment ministry in Cairo said. The announcement came after parliament in May adopted a new law aimed at attracting foreign investment as the authorities seek to reinvigorate the North African country's struggling economy. / AFP PHOTO / MOHAMED EL-SHAHED (Photo credit should read MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images)

Tourists are seen in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on August 7, 2017 [MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images]

The Egyptian tourism industry saw revenues drop $9 billion last year compared to the previous year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Khalid Al-Anani, said a total of 3.5 million tourists visited Egypt in 2020 compared to 13.1 million in 2019, with tourism revenues dropping to $4 billion last year compared to $13.03 billion the previous year.

His ministry has now signed a contract with a foreign company to draw up a strategy to promote tourism in 2021, he explained.

“The current goal is not to count the number of visitors, but how to build an exciting reputation for Egypt in order to attract the attention of tourists after the corona crisis,” Al-Anani said.

Egypt stopped air travel between March and July 2020 as part of its coronavirus lockdown. The North African state is now experiencing its second wave of the virus and has recorded 1,407 cases, including 54 deaths over the last 24 hours.

READ: Sisi builds more palaces while intensive care units without oxygen are common in Egypt

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