Rescuing Egyptian tourism

Rescuing Egyptian tourism

Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) signed a Covid-19 tourism recovery technical assistance cooperation package last week to promote resilience, sustainability, and inclusive growth of the sector in Egypt.



"The package comes at a crucial time, as it supports the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and its affiliated agencies as well as the private sector to embark on the ongoing changes,“ Khaled El-Enany, minister of tourism and antiquities, said.



Egypt's tourism sector has been hard hit by Covid-19, with revenues diving by nearly 70 per cent to $4 billion in 2020. The number of tourists visiting Egypt sank to 3.5 million last year from 13.1 million in 2019, El-Enany told Reuters. Foreign occupancy rates in Egyptian hotels dropped to just 10 to 15 per cent of 2019 levels.



"The agreement is an example of deepening collaborations to advance sectoral support and accelerate progress to meet Egypt's priorities going forward,“ Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat said, adding that the package aims to formulate recommendations to stimulate the sector and retain jobs, protect the most vulnerable, strengthen supply chains in the tourism