Tourism & Hospitality | Tuesday 16 June, 2015 8:59 am |

The Egyptian Tourism Authority (ETA) recently announced April’s tourism statistics which reflect continued positive growth in the number of tourists visiting Egypt, as compared with the same period last year. The number of tourists who visited various tourist destinations in Egypt during April 2015 saw a 17.7% increase when compared with numbers from April 2014.

This positive trend continues asthe Ministry of Tourism ramps up efforts on its recently launched campaign “Masr Qariba.” “Masr Qariba,” which means “Egypt is close” in Arabic, aims to attract Arab tourists, with a special focus on the UAE, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait markets, by highlighting Egypt’s proximity, on a geographical, cultural, historical and social level. Additionally, Egypt will soon be launching its new global campaign advertising and publicity campaign that will shed light on cultural tourism where 20-25% of the campaign’s budget will be allocated towards promoting this specific type of tourism in Egypt. The new campaign specifically targets restoring tourism to cultural destinations by creating tourist packages that combine visits to cultural destinations with opportunities to stay at beach resorts,

Statistics reflect an increase in the number of Emirati tourists by 49.8% during the first four months of 2015 compared with the same period last year. In April 2015, the number of Emirati tourists who visited Egypt increased by 36.4% compared to April 2014. In addition, the number of Emirati tourists staying in hotels and nights spent in Egypt during April 2015 has increased by 22.3% compared to April 2014.

Statistics also show an increase in the number of Saudi tourists by 69.9% during the first four months of 2015 compared with the same period last year. In April 2015, the number of Saudi tourists who visited Egypt increased by 57.3% compared to April 2014. Furthermore, during April 2015 Saudi Arabia has been ranked fifth in terms of the number of tourists and nights spent in Egypt. These rankings also held true across all the statistics for the first four months of this year.

Moreover, statistics demonstrate an increase in the number of Kuwaiti tourists by 37.1% during the first four months of 2015 compared with the same period last year. In April 2015, the number of Kuwaiti tourists who visited Egypt increased by 20.2% compared to April 2014. In addition, the number of Kuwaiti tourists staying in hotels and nights spent in Egypt during April 2015 has increased by 17.6% compared to April 2014.

Commenting on the steady rise in Arab tourism to Egypt, Sami Mahmoud, Chairman of the Egyptian Tourism Authority said: “We are delighted to witness the continued growth in the number of tourists coming to Egypt. The diversity of our tourism offerings and destinations demonstrates the competitiveness of the Egyptian tourism sector in the region and the world. These figures also reinforce Egypt's position as a tourism hub for cultural, artistic and entertainment events in the region.”

He added, “The launch of the ‘Masr Qariba’ campaign underlines the geographical, cultural and social proximity that we enjoy with our Arab neighbors who Egypt welcomes all year long by offering attractive tourism deals at competitive costs and with great added value. These statistics also confirm Egypt’s position as a leading tourism destination in the region as it remains one the most secure destinations for Arab and foreign tourists who are dearly valued by Egypt’s people and government.”