MP Mohamed Abdo said that tourism revenues in Egypt are still small and do not equate to the industry’s potential and resources.
Abdo added that the sector includes many negatives to be solved, especially the congestion at Cairo International Airport, which he said harms the sector at home and abroad.
Abdo urged holding a meeting between the tourism committee of parliament and the Ministers of Tourism, Aviation, Antiquities, and Interior to solve the problems facing the sector and to guarantee increasing the number of tourists to over 15 million annually.
The peak tourist inflows to Egypt, in 2010, were 14.7 million, bringing in revenues of $12.5bn.
Tourism performance indicators turned green in the first quarter of this year, amid expectations that they will continue to be positive until the end of the year, according to a report by Colliers International.
The report, obtained by Daily News Egypt, said that four cities in Egypt witnessed an increase in occupancy rates; Sharm El-Sheikh’s increased by 23%, followed by Hurghada by 15%, Alexandria by 9%, and Cairo by 3%.
The relative change in the daily price of hotel rooms during the first quarter witnessed a noticeable improvement in Sharm El Sheikh, up by 11%, and Hurghada by 6%, while the percentages in Cairo and Alexandria were 5%.
A Tourism Ministry official said tourism spending in the first quarter of this year was improving and almost touching $100 a night, a major shift in spending that would increase revenues to nearly $9bn by the end of the year.
