Tourism looks set to be an increasingly important contributor to the country’s GDP, with the government looking to increase the sector’s annual revenue to USD 24.0 bn by the fiscal year 2028-2029, up over 40% from last fiscal year’s USD 16.7 bn, according to a government document detailing the National Tourism Development Strategy 2030 seen by EnterpriseAM. The targeted increase in revenues will be accompanied by a rise in tourist footfall to 30 mn by the end of the decade, up from 15.7 mn in 2024, and an increase in the average stay from 10.5 to 11 nights.

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The strategy sees the private sector playing a vital role in expanding the sector, with private investments making up 99.5% of total targeted investments under the plan. For the current fiscal year, the government sees investments in tourism hitting EGP 116.2 bn, up 60.5% y-o-y, with the private sector accounting for EGP 115.6 bn.

Part of the plan is a focus on medical tourism, with the government setting out a framework to eventually attract 200k visitors a year for treatment or recovery purposes. The plan sees this segment bringing in USD 1.2 bn in annual revenues.

Not the first we hear of the state’s plan to boost medical tourism: Egypt has been trying to position itself as a medical tourism hub to attract FDI and to open fresh FX revenue streams from patients from Africa, the Middle East, and Europe coming here for treatment, thanks to our talented and well-trained medical staff and the competitive price points Egyptian hospitals can offer.

Yacht tourism is also part of the strategy, with the government thinking it could raise USD 3.0 bn a year from it. To support this, the government is looking to partner with the private sector to increase marina capacity and to develop international marinas by adding fuel and maintenance services. The government has been working to boost Egypt’s yacht tourism for years now. And last year the Suez Canal Authority rolled out fresh incentives and facilities for yachts passing through the waterway.

The government also wants to increase tourism on the Nile, with a plan to increase rooms on Nile cruises and floating hotels to 18.2k from 15.7k currently.

REMEMBER- The government recently completed its inventory of Nile-front land suitable for hotel development. The plots will soon be offered to private sector players for development.

DATA POINT- Around 2.2 mn are employed directly or indirectly by the tourism sector, accounting for 6.6% of the total labor force.

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