It’s business as usual for our tourism sector, despite Gaza war: Tourists have continued to arrive in Egypt in greater numbers than last year since the war in Gaza started seven weeks ago, defying pessimistic outlooks that accompanied the conflict.

The figures: Almost 1.5 mn tourists visited the country in October, up 8% y-o-y, while arrivals in the first three weeks of November were 5-10% higher, Tourism Minister Ahmed Issa said at a press conference yesterday.

Defying predictions: Israel’s declaration of war on Hamas last month brought with it a downbeat outlook for Egypt’s tourism sector, with several booking agencies reporting a spike in cancellations and warnings from onlookers, including from IMF head Kristalina Georgieva.

Our 15 mn target is still in sight: “We should be able to achieve our objective or be as close as possible to our objective of bringing in a record 15 mn tourists this year,” Issa said. Arrivals during the first 10 months of the year saw a 30% increase from the same period in 2022. Bookings for November and December are on track to reach their normal levels after a brief hiccup triggered by the war, the minister said.

ICYMI- We looked at what the government has done to mitigate the potential impact from the war on our tourism sector in a story published last month.

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