The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced that Egypt’s revenues from tourism in the first nine months of the 2020-2021 fiscal year by fell 67.4 percent to about US$3.1 billion.
In a statement on Tuesday evening, CBE said that “net foreign direct investment flows to Egypt in the first nine months of the 2020-2021 fiscal year decreased by 19.3 percent to $4.8 billion.”
“Egypt’s current account deficit in the first nine months of the 2020-2021 fiscal year amounted to $13.3 billion, compared to $ 7.3 billion a year ago.”
It added that “remittances from Egyptians working abroad in the first nine months of the 2020-2021 fiscal year rose by 8.5 percent to $ 23.4 billion.”
Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled al-Anany said last month that there is a monthly increase in the rate of inbound tourism to Egypt, indicating restored confidence in the country as a safe tourist destination.
The tourism industry has been hit badly over the past year due to the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic. Several countries have sealed its borders and banned travel to contain the spread of the disease.
Egypt’s tourism sector lost upwards of $7.7 billion due to the pandemic in 2020. Being a pillar of Egypt’s economy, the industry provides a large percentage of the country’s GDP and employs over three million Egyptians.
Earlier this month, the German non-profit organization enpact and the TUI Care Foundation have launched the Tourism Recovery Programme in Egypt, which aims to empower businesses in the tourism industry to adapt to the coronavirus pandemic’s challenges.
The program will work with businesses to improve innovation, job retention, and international collaboration, enpact stated in a press release.
Egypt received 13.1 million tourists in 2019, generating revenues of US$13.03 billion. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, revenues in 2020 fell by about 70 percent to US$4 billion, with just 3.5 million tourist entering the country.
