Egypt reports 15% rise in tourism income

• Visitors contribute $14bn
• Tourism crucial for balancing books
• Overseas Egyptians send home $35bn

Egypt’s revenue from tourism rose nearly 15 percent in the first nine months of its current fiscal year, as the Arab country presses ahead with plans to maintain its position as one of the world’s largest tourism destinations.

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, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said.

His figures, reviewed during the cabinet’s weekly meeting on Wednesday, also showed that cash remittances by overseas Egyptians, mainly from those in the oil-rich Gulf, climbed by 32 percent year on year to about $35 billion during the same period.

Egypt, the most populous Arab nation and third-largest regional economy, has been locked in a drive to expand its tourism sector along with industries and other export-oriented sectors to increase hard currency inflow and tackle fiscal and trade gaps.

In October, the tourism ministry reported that the number of tourists visiting Egypt rose by nearly 21 percent to almost 15 million in the first nine months of 2025.

The government is also targeting a 60 percent growth in investment in tourism during the current fiscal year.

Further reading:

• North Africa gains as Gulf tourists swerve war
• WTTC’S Suez cruise reveals ‘Dubai model’ vulnerabilities
• Egypt’s branded residences spark hope for tourism funding

Egypt’s branded hotel pipeline has hit a record 46,000 rooms. But executives say the wider opportunity lies in the country’s existing stock of 180,000 keys – industry shorthand for accommodation units. Most of them are unbranded, ageing and reliant on discounting, analysts told AGBI.

“The opportunity is not just about adding hotels and hotel rooms,” said Alain Debare, a partner in hospitality consultancy HVS Middle East & Africa. “The opportunity is really upgrading, but there’s also a great opportunity for conversion, branding, repositioning and professional asset management of hotel stock.”