Arab Tourism in Egypt Records 1.9 Million Tourists, Up 25% in 9 Months of 2017

Saudi Arabia tops the Arab list and ranks second worldwide with 519,000 tourists

Leaps in tourist nights across markets... and Maghreb countries post the highest growth rates

By Akram Medhat

The number of Arabs arriving in Egypt in the first 9 months of this year reached about 1.9 million tourists, up 25% compared with the same period in 2016, with the Arab market representing 32% of total inbound tourist traffic from around the world, which reached 5.9 million tourists.

Tourist nights spent by Arabs in Egypt reached about 23 million from January to September 2017, a jump of 125% compared with the number of nights in the same period of 2016.

A Relatively Quiet September

Last September, the main Arab markets for the Egyptian destination maintained their growth rates across the various regions, whether the Gulf, the Levant or the Maghreb, despite a relative slowdown compared with August due to the start of the school year in all Arab countries in the second half of last month.

According to tourism statistics obtained exclusively by Travel Yalla News, the total number of Arab tourists arriving last September reached 235,000, up 22% from the same month in 2016, spending 4 million tourist nights, up 145%.

There are 12 markets representing actual tourist traffic of all types from across the Arab world to Egypt, according to Travel Yalla News' analysis of tourism statistics, as a number of countries are excluded because it is difficult to calculate actual tourist traffic from them due to their particular political circumstances.

Total tourists arriving from the 12 Arab markets mentioned from January to September 2017 reached about 1.2 million (1,188,509 tourists).

The Gulf Market

Saudi Arabia topped the list of Arab source markets for tourism to Egypt in the first 9 months of 2017 and ranked second worldwide, recording the arrival of 519,000 Saudi tourists, up 27%, who spent 5.7 million tourist nights, an increase of 72%.

In September, 56,000 tourists came from Saudi Arabia to the Egyptian tourist destination, up 16% from the same month in 2016, spending 1.3 million tourist nights, up 88%.

Kuwait came second in the Gulf and third among Arab countries, with the arrival of about 136,000 tourists in 9 months, up 15%, who spent 1.5 million tourist nights, up 46%. Last September, Kuwaitis in Egypt numbered about 12,000 tourists, a slight decline of 1% from the same month in 2016.

Emiratis recorded the arrival of 46,000 tourists from January to the end of September, up 20% from the same period in 2016, spending 491,000 tourist nights, an increase of 92%.

Jordan and Lebanon: Continued Increases

Jordanian tourism saw the arrival of 170,000 tourists through the end of September 2017, up 19% compared with the same period in 2016, ranking second among Arab countries and eighth worldwide, and they spent 1.8 million tourist nights, a jump of 130%.

Lebanese tourism in Egypt rose 27%, with the arrival of 82,000 tourists in the past 9 months, who spent 777,000 tourist nights, an increase of 150%.

The Maghreb Posts the Highest Growth Rates

On the other hand, tourist traffic from the Maghreb countries recorded the highest growth rates among Arab tourism markets from January to September 2017. Tunisia led with the arrival of 40,000 tourists, up 45%, the highest rate of increase in the Arab market, who spent 277,000 tourist nights, up 234% from the same period in 2016.

Algerians followed with the arrival of about 37,000 tourists through the end of September, up 32%, who spent 405,000 tourist nights, an increase of 300% compared with 2016.

Moroccan tourism in Egypt recorded 35,000 tourists in 9 months, up 33%, who spent 399,000 tourist nights, an increase of 252% compared with the same period in 2016.

Iraqi Growth and Bahraini Progress

Inbound tourism from Iraq, "Mesopotamia," to Egypt recorded 76,000 tourists, up 28% from 2016, who spent 711,000 tourist nights, an increase of 261%, the highest growth rate in Arab tourist nights.

Bahrain is one of the promising markets, recording the arrival of 22,000 tourists to Egypt in the first 9 months of this year, up 20%, who spent 257,000 tourist nights, an increase of 99%.

Qataris Disappear

As a natural reaction to the Arab countries' boycott of Qatar, the suspension of flights with the region's most important countries led to the disappearance of Qatari tourists in Egypt, whose numbers are normally weak compared with the strength of other Arab markets. September recorded the arrival of only 56 Qatari tourists, down 97%, an unprecedented rate of decline in this market, while Qatari arrivals to Egypt over the 9 months totaled about 11,000 tourists, down 36% from the same period in 2016, who spent 92,000 tourist nights, down 20%.

A table showing the main Arab source markets for tourism to Egypt from January to September 2017, compared with 2016:

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