Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Hala El-Said, has expected that investments in the tourism and antiquities sector will increase by 64% to about EGP 8.5bn in fiscal year (FY) 2021/22, up from expected EGP 5.2bn in FY 2020/21.
Actual investments in Egypt’s tourism sector reached EGP 5.5bn in FY 2019/20.
The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development reviewed the targets of the tourism sector in FY 2021/22, which is the fourth year of the medium-term plan for sustainable development (18/2019 – 21/2022). Minister El-Said stressed that the tourism sector occupies a special importance for the Egyptian economy.
The report of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development included the targets of the tourism sector in the 2021/22 plan. On the sector’s production level, it is estimated that it will reach about EGP 120bn at current prices, compared to EGP 93bn during 2020/21, with a growth rate of nearly 29%.
It is targeted to increase the contribution of tourism to GDP to EGP 91.4bn in FY 2021/22, compared to EGP 69.5bn in the previous year, with a growth rate of 31.5%.
The report pointed out that the development vision of the tourism sector is for Egypt to be a sustainable and attractive tourist destination at the regional and international levels, and an essential supporter for the national economy and the UN goals for sustainable growth.
The strategy to achieve this vision is to improve the quality of the tourism product with strict adherence to environmental standards and green tourism to ensure sustainability, diversifying the tourism product by targeting new tourism patterns, such as eco-tourism, sports, and safari tourism, and diversifying exporting markets to attract more visitors from emerging economies as well as countries that have begun to recover from the pandemic to be the starting point for promotional activities for Egyptian tourism.
In addition, Egypt will advertise its archaeological heritage through conferences, missions, and international exhibitions, while focusing on promoting recent archaeological discoveries.
The government also provided training programmes in the tourism sector to develop the capabilities and skills of workers, in addition to enhancing public awareness about the importance of tourism in schools, universities, and various media outlets.
