Egyptian tourism revenues recorded between $3.5 billion to $4 billion during H1 of 2021, with around 3.5 million tourists received between January and June 2021, states Ghada Shalaby, deputy minister of tourism to Reuters.

The pandemic hit the sector, one of Egypt’s most vital revenue streams, hard with tourism revenues dropping by 70%, going from $13.03 billion in 2019 to about $4 billion in 2020.

The deputy minister was positive for the future however, with Shalaby quoted as saying that they expect an increase in tourists of 45% to 60% during the next period compared with last year.

The average spending of a tourist per night is about $95, she added.

An important source of foreign currency for Egypt, the tourism industry’s revenues, on average, usually accounts for up to 15% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Egypt was recently announced as one of Saudi Arabia’s top list of MENA destinations for Saudi international travelers since the kingdom reopened its borders a month ago, by a recent study by Almosafer.