Tourism Revenues in Egypt Expected to Fall Due to COVID-19

Egypt’s tourism revenues in the current fiscal year are expected to reach US$11 billion instead of the earlier expected US$16 billion, Minister of Planning Hala El-Said was quoted by Ahram. “The current global outbreak of coronavirus has led to a near halt in the tourism and aviation sectors in Egypt,” El-Said said.

The minister added that she expects some growth rate recovery in the second half of the upcoming fiscal year during a press conference at the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) headquarters in Cairo to review the implications of the coronavirus on the economy in Egypt and elsewhere.

The Egyptian tourism sector is one of the country’s main sources of foreign currency, and in 2019 reached a revenue of US$13 billion, according to Ahram. Egypt imposed a night-time curfew, banned large public gatherings, closed schools and universities and suspended all international flights to curb the spread of COVID-19. The country has reported 2,190 people infected with coronavirus, 164 fatalities and 589 recoveries