US Tourism Ranks Sixth Worldwide With 105,000 Tourists to Egypt in the First Half of 2017

The Americas send 166,000 tourists to Egypt, up 26% in 6 months

Tourist nights post high rates despite relatively subdued tourist numbers

By Akram Medhat

Tourist traffic from North and South America to Egypt rose 33% last June compared with June 2016, reaching 34,000 tourists, representing 6% of total inbound tourism to Egypt from around the world, which stood at 533,000 tourists. They spent 281,000 tourist nights, an increase of 209%.

Tourism statistics obtained exclusively by "Travel Yalla News" revealed that the total number of tourists arriving from the Americas during the first half of the current year reached 166,000, compared with 131,000 in the same period of 2016, an increase of 26%. They spent 1.8 million tourist nights, achieving an increase of 151%.

It is notable that traffic from the Americas maintained its high rates, while tourist nights continued to achieve record increases, which represents the true indicator of the activity of tourist numbers from these countries.

The US market sixth worldwide

The United States topped the countries of the two continents and ranked sixth worldwide, with 23,000 American tourists arriving last June, up 31% from June 2016, who spent 192,000 tourist nights, an increase of 202%.

For the first half of 2017 as a whole, US tourism recorded 105,000 tourist arrivals, up 20% compared with the same period of 2016, who spent 1.2 million tourist nights, an increase of 154%, placing it sixth on the list of the top ten tourism source markets to Egypt from around the world.

Canada came second on the list of tourism markets in the Americas, recording about 6,000 tourists last June, an increase of 15%. Canadians recorded about 34,000 tourists in the first half of 2017, up 17%, who spent 341,000 tourist nights, an increase of 82%.

A Latin American lull

Tourist traffic from Latin American countries, led by Brazil, was subdued in terms of numbers, although it achieved notable growth rates. Brazilian tourism to Egypt last June recorded 927 tourist arrivals, an increase of 83% over June 2016, while Brazilians' tourist nights achieved the highest growth rate, at 537%, reaching about 7,500 nights.

The number of Brazilian tourists during the first half of 2017 reached about 7,200, up 90% from the same period last year, who spent 47,000 tourist nights, an increase of 476%, despite the absence of regular direct or charter flights to the Egyptian destination, which weakens our benefit from this important and promising market.

Argentine tourism recorded a 98% rise with about 700 tourists last June, and for the first half of 2017 as a whole, about 6,200 Argentine tourists visited Egypt, up 98% compared with last year, spending 52,000 tourist nights, an increase of 383%.

Mexico came at the bottom of the list with 536 tourists last June, an increase of 53%, while Mexican tourism recorded about 3,500 tourists in the first half of 2017, up 73% compared with the same period last year, who spent 28,000 tourist nights, an increase of 352%.

A table showing the top source countries for tourism to Egypt in the Americas during June 2017 compared with 2016, and the first-half total: