The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) published a report which revealed that Egypt’s tourism sector witnessed a huge boom in 2018, making it the fastest growing in North Africa.
The report was conducted by reviewing the results of new research by the WTTC in 2018, comparing the travel and tourism sector in 185 countries.
WTTC President & CEO Gloria Guevara hailed Egypt’s strong recovery in tourism and stressed this sector’s importance towards economic growth and job creation.
According to the report, tourism in Egypt is responsible for providing 2.5 million jobs, equivalent to 9.5 percent of the total number of jobs in Egypt.
It added that tourism contributed 11.9 percent of Egypt’s GDP last year, and the sector’s contribution to the GDP is expected to further increase in 2019.
The WTTC further commended the role played by the Egyptian Tourism Ministry in making tourism a priority sector and its strategy to increase citizen awareness regarding the importance of the tourism sector.
The report pointed out that the Egyptian government’s efforts to improve security helped increase tourism by 16.5 percent, the best since 2010.
It added that efforts in the security sector also helped attract tourists and large tourism companies to Egypt’s famous tourist destinations such as Sharm el-Sheikh.
The WTTC represents the international private sector for tourism and travel, and has been conducting this research for more than 25 years.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
