Egypt sees 90% surge in Ukrainian tourist arrivals as tourism sector recovers

Nearly 750k Ukrainian tourists visited Egypt in 2017, a 90% y-o-y jump, Tourism Promotion Authority (TPA) head Hisham El Demery told the press yesterday, according to Al Masry Al Youm. In response to the surging demand, Ukraine International Airlines announced they would operate four weekly flights between Cairo and Kievas of 6 April, Al Shorouk reports. The surge, along with a 66.5% y-o-y rise in group travel to Egypt in 2017, comes as the country’s ailing tourism sector continues to recover.

Sound smart: Ask your friends in the tourism industry how many of those Ukrainian tourists were actually Russians coming in through the back door in the absence of direct flights to Egypt from Mother Russia.