Arab Tourism to Egypt Records 1.1 Million Tourists, Up 29% in the First Half of 2017

268,000 Saudi tourists arrived from January to June, ranking third worldwide

Notable rises in tourist nights across markets... and Jordanian tourism surges

By Akram Medhat

Arab tourism to Egypt rose 25% last June compared with June 2016, with 151,000 Arab arrivals, despite coinciding with the month of Ramadan, during which traffic from the Arab market slows. They represent 25% of total arrivals from around the world last month, which stood at 533,000 tourists, and June was indeed relatively quieter than May, which recorded 191,000 Arab arrivals.

Tourist nights spent by Arabs last June also rose 116% compared with the same month of 2016, reaching 1.7 million nights.

Most of the main Arab markets for the Egyptian destination saw notable increases from various regions, whether the Gulf, the Levant or the Maghreb, and Arab tourism is expected to pick up during its peak season over the summer holiday, from the start of this July until the first half of next September.

According to tourism statistics obtained exclusively by "Travel Yalla News", the total number of Arab tourists arriving in the first half of the current year reached 1.1 million, an increase of 29% over the same period of 2016, which recorded 843,000 Arab tourists, and they spent 11 million tourist nights, up 100%.

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

The total number of tourists arriving from the 12 Arab markets mentioned last June reached 86,000.

A notable Gulf rise

Saudi Arabia topped the list of Arab source markets for tourism to Egypt last June and ranks second worldwide, recording 32,000 Saudi tourist arrivals, up 76%, while they spent 113,000 tourist nights, down 13%.

For the first half of 2017 as a whole, the number of Saudi arrivals reached 268,000 tourists, up 31% from the same period of 2016, who spent 2.3 million tourist nights, an increase of 51%, ranking third worldwide.

Kuwait came second in the Gulf and third among Arab markets, with about 8,600 tourists, up 57%, despite recording a large drop in numbers from May, which saw 21,000 Kuwaiti tourists, while the tourist nights they spent fell 5% to 116,000 nights.

The total number of Kuwaiti tourists arriving in Egypt from January to June 2017 reached about 87,000, up 19%, who spent 880,000 tourist nights, an increase of 26%.

Emiratis recorded a 75% rise in June with 3,877 tourists, who spent 15,000 nights, an increase of 29%, while the first half of 2017 as a whole saw 26,000 Emirati tourist arrivals, up 32% from the same period of 2016, who spent 220,000 tourist nights, an increase of 56%.

A Jordanian surge and a Lebanese revival

Jordanian tourism in June surged 171% compared with June last year, with 19,000 tourists, ranking second among Arab markets and recording the highest growth rate among them, who spent 159,000 tourist nights, up 193%.

For the first half of 2017 as a whole, Jordanians recorded about 95,000 tourist arrivals, up 32%, who spent 886,000 tourist nights, ranking second among Arab markets and eighth worldwide.

Lebanese tourism to Egypt saw a relative revival, with 5,700 tourists last June, up 65%, who spent 41,000 tourist nights, an increase of 174%.

The Lebanese recorded 52,000 tourist arrivals during the first half of 2017, up 31% from the same period of 2016, who spent 454,000 tourist nights, an increase of 158%.

A Maghreb lull

On the other hand, tourist traffic from the Maghreb countries was relatively subdued last June, led by Morocco with about 2,771 tourists, up 55%. Moroccans recorded 19,000 tourists in the first half of the current year as a whole, up 30%, who spent 172,000 tourist nights, an increase of 143% over the same period of 2016.

About 2,100 tourists came to Egypt from Tunisia last month, an increase of 5%, while 24,000 Tunisian tourists were recorded in the first half of the current year as a whole, up 45%, who spent 124,000 tourist nights, an increase of 118%.

The Algerians followed with about 1,600 tourists, an increase of 11% last June, and for the first half of 2017 as a whole, 18,000 Algerian tourists arrived, up 41%, who spent 167,000 tourist nights, an increase of 244%.

Iraqi growth and a Bahraini emergence

Iraq, "Mesopotamia", saw strong growth of 135%, recording about 7,570 tourists in June, while the total number of Iraqi tourists arriving in the first half of 2017 reached about 44,000, up 66%, who spent 347,000 tourist nights, an increase of 187%.

Bahrain is one of the promising markets, recording 1,963 tourists in June, and for the first half of 2017 as a whole, about 12,000 Bahraini tourists arrived, up 23%, who spent 106,000 tourist nights, an increase of 45%.

An unprecedented Qatari decline

As a natural reaction to the Arab countries' boycott of Qatar, the halt of air traffic between it and the region's most important countries brought Qatari tourist arrivals to Egypt to a near standstill, a market that is not normally weak compared with the strength of other Arab markets. June recorded only 230 Qatari tourists, down 74%, an unprecedented rate of decline for this market, who spent 14,000 tourist nights, up 13%.

Qatari arrivals to Egypt reached about 11,000 tourists in the first half of 2017, down 4% from the same period of 2016, who spent 84,000 tourist nights.

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