Lebanese Tourism to Egypt Up 88% in April, Rising to Second Place Among Arab Markets

209,000 Arab tourists visited Egypt last April, up 38%, and tourist nights jump 147%

Saudi Arabia first among Arab markets and third worldwide with 51,000 tourists

Lebanese record the highest growth in arrivals thanks to the spring holidays and Sham El-Nessim

By Akram Medhat

Arab tourism to Egypt is distinguished by positive rates that always point to optimism. Last April saw a notable recovery among some nationalities, and Arabs' share of tourist traffic in Egypt stands at 29%, with 209,000 Arab tourists recorded, up 38% from April 2016, out of a total of 716,000 tourists from around the world.

Tourist nights spent by Arabs last April rose by 147% to 2.2 million nights, compared with the same month last year.

There are 12 markets that represent actual tourist traffic of various types from across the Arab world to Egypt, according to an analysis of tourism statistics by “Travel Yalla News,” with a number of countries excluded because it is difficult to calculate actual tourist traffic from them given their particular political circumstances.

Tourism statistics obtained exclusively by “Travel Yalla News” revealed that the total number of tourists arriving from the 12 Arab markets referred to last April reached 140,000, a notable improvement compared with March, which recorded 125,000 tourists. The main reason is the activity of Lebanese tourism during the spring holidays and Sham El-Nessim in mid-April.

Gulf States

Saudi Arabia topped the list of Arab source markets for tourism to Egypt last April, and ranks third worldwide, with 51,000 Saudi tourists arriving, up 45%, spending 608,000 tourist nights, a leap of 137%.

In total for the first four months of this year, the number of Saudi arrivals reached 202,000 tourists, up 41% from the same period in 2016, spending 1.8 million tourist nights, an increase of 61%.

Kuwait came second in the Gulf and fourth among Arab markets with 14,000 tourists, up 32%, spending 104,000 tourist nights, stable at last year's level.

The total number of Kuwaiti tourists in the first four months of 2017 reached about 57,000, up 32%, spending 590,000 tourist nights, an increase of 40%.

Emiratis recorded a 40% increase, with about 5,000 tourists arriving last April, and the tourist nights they spent reached about 57,000, up 55%. The first four months of this year also saw a total of 19,000 tourists arrive, up 40%.

Lebanese Rise

Lebanese tourism to Egypt rose to second place among Arab markets and seventh worldwide last April, with 22,000 tourists arriving, up 89%, recording the highest growth rate among Arab markets due to the heavy turnout of Lebanese at the peak of their season during the spring holidays and Sham El-Nessim in mid-April. They spent 167,000 tourist nights, a record leap of 480%.

In total for the first four months of 2017, Lebanese arrivals reached 39,000 tourists, up 31% from the same period in 2016, spending 338,000 tourist nights, an increase of 198%.

Jordanian tourism, meanwhile, slipped to third place among Arab markets last April amid the Lebanese rise, with 20,000 tourists arriving, up 37%, spending 213,000 tourist nights, an increase of 187%. In total for the first four months of 2017, about 60,000 Jordanian tourists arrived.

Iraqi Calm

Iraq, the “Land of the Two Rivers,” saw relative calm, recording a 21% increase with about 7,500 tourists arriving in Egypt last April, while they spent 60,000 tourist nights, an increase of 146%. The total number of Iraqi tourists arriving during the first four months of 2017 reached about 30,000, up 71%.

The Maghreb

Separately, Tunisia led tourist traffic from the Maghreb countries last April, with more than 5,000 tourists arriving, up 58%, spending about 28,000 tourist nights, an increase of 151%. In total for the first four months of this year, they recorded 18,000 tourists, up 53%.

Promising Arab Markets

Bahrain is one of the promising markets, and traffic from it is expected to increase during the current summer season, especially to Sharm El-Sheikh. It recorded 2,400 tourists in April, up 19%, spending 17,000 tourist nights, an increase of 35%. In total for the first four months of 2017, about 8,800 tourists arrived from Bahrain, up 27%.

On the other hand, Qatar was the only market on the list of Arab markets to record a decline, with 2,500 tourists arriving, down 8%, although it improved on March, which saw 1,600 tourists, while Qatari tourist nights reached 14,000, up 48%. In total for the first four months of 2017, about 7,800 tourists arrived, up 11%.

A table showing the top Arab source markets for tourism to Egypt in April 2017 compared with 2016: