By Staff Writer
Egypt intends to build more hotels to increase rooms and ease entry curbs for citizens from many countries as part of an ambitious plan targeting a leap in the number of tourists, its Prime Minister has announced.
The country has embarked on a drive to develop non-oil sectors, mainly tourism, as a major source of hard currency for a country which is continuously reeling under public debt, and deficits in its budgets and trade balances.
The latest tourism plan will be launched in August, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced after a meeting he convened at the weekend of several ministers and officials to discuss its implementation.
“The government aims to achieve a leap in the rates of inbound tourism to Egypt, through a plan that aims to work on a number of axes,” Madbouly said in a statement.
“The plan includes stimulating airlines and tourism companies, increasing hotel capacity to accommodate the targeted growth in the number of tourists, as well as expanding the list of countries whose citizens are allowed to obtain an entry visa at Egyptian airports,” he added without specifying these stimulating measures.
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy said the plan would be launched in early August and it includes an electronic visa issuance system.
This initiative is part of efforts toward digital transformation and streamlining visa procedures, which will expedite entry processes, he added.
“We are planning to expand the list of countries enjoying these facilitations and reduce the time required for visa issuance procedures, thereby contributing to enhancing the competitiveness of Egypt as a tourist destination and increasing the number of incoming tourists,” the minister said.
Egypt is already one of the world’s largest tourist destinations, with more than 19 million visitors recorded in the Arab country last year, according to official estimates.
Revenues from tourism rose nearly 15 percent in the first nine months of its current fiscal year (July 2025-March 2026), Madbouly said last month.
From around $12.5 billion during July-March of the 2024-2025 fiscal year, Egypt’s tourism income increased to nearly $14.4 billion during the same period of the current fiscal year, he said.
(Writing by N Saeed; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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