JEDDAH — The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and the Egyptian Tourism Authority recently announced July's tourism statistics that reflect the positive growth of its tourism sector. The number of tourists who visited various tourist destinations in Egypt in July 2015 saw a 2.9% increase, while the number of Arab tourists who visited Egypt in July 2015 saw a 39.5% increase when compared with July 2014. Commenting on this achievement, Ahmed Ali, Head of ETA's Abu Dhabi office, said: “This success coincides with the opening of the Suez Canal in August, which reflects positively on the tourism sector, and shows Egypt's ability to welcome visitors from around the world and make them feel at home. In particular, the cities of Suez, Ismailia, and Port Said have become distinctive tourist destinations, as they are full of natural landmarks and unique artifacts for all tourists to enjoy.” July's statistics reflect an increase in the number of Emirati tourists by 65.6% during the first seven months of 2015 compared with the same period in 2014. Meanwhile, in July 2015, the number of Emirati tourists who visited Egypt increased by 43.3% compared to July 2014. Statistics also demonstrate an increase in the number of Saudi tourists by 53.1% during the first seven months of 2015 compared with the same period last year. In July 2015, the number of Saudi tourists who visited Egypt increased by 95.5% compared to July 2014. Moreover, Saudi Arabia has been ranked fourth in terms of the number of tourists and fifth in terms of nights spent in Egypt in July 2015 and during the first seven months of 2015. Furthermore, the number of Kuwaiti tourists increased by 41.4% in the first seven months of 2015 compared with the same period last year. In July 2015, the number of Kuwaiti tourists who visited Egypt increased by 77.9% compared to July 2014. Meanwhile, the number of Kuwaiti tourists who stayed in hotels in Egypt during the month of July increased by 140.2%, compared to their growth of 13.1% during the first six months of 2015. Kuwait is ranked eighth in terms of the number of tourists and nights spent in Egypt during the first sixth months of 2015. Ahmed Ali added: “We recently launched the “Masr Qariba” campaign in August 2015, which will extend till the end of November 2015, continuously shedding light on Egypt's ‘closeness' in proximity and culture to all our Arab brothers in the GCC, Jordan and Lebanon as well as encouraging them to spend their Eid Al-Adha and end-of-summer holidays in Egypt. We will continue to offer the best deals for tourism with competitive prices and the best value-for-money for our people in the region, maintaining Egypt's status as an ideal tourist destination that hosts tourists from around the world.” — SG
