Egypt expects to achieve record revenues from the tourism sector at a value of $14 billion by the end of the current fiscal year, which ends at the end of June, compared to $10.7 billion for the previous fiscal year, and the stability of the exchange rate of the Egyptian pound against the dollar next December, according to Finance Minister Mohamed Maait.
if the expected number is reached; It will be the largest ever for the tourism sector, as the highest revenue achieved in 2019 was $13 billion, but then it deteriorated sharply to $4 billion in 2020 with the outbreak of the “Covid” virus, then it recovered to $8.9 billion in 2021.
The minister’s statements come at a time when the Egyptian government relies on the tourism sector as one of the most important sources of foreign income, while the country is witnessing a severe crisis in the availability of the US dollar and the prosperity of the parallel market. And last September; Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said that his country aims to increase the revenues of the tourism sector from the average currently estimated between $11 billion to $12 billion annually, to $30 billion annually over the next three years.
Egypt’s tourism revenues witnessed a jump during the first half of the current fiscal year, by about 25%, to reach $7.3 billion, according to recent data from the Central Bank. East Economy.
Also read: The pound jumps in tourism revenues in Egypt and plunges remittances from expatriates
Maait said during a meeting held today by the Egyptian-Canadian Business Council in Cairo: “The end of this year in December will witness the start of recovery and the return phase of the Egyptian economy’s indicators, and the stability of the exchange rate and prices.”
Egypt is suffering from a severe foreign currency crisis, which was exacerbated by the repercussions of the Corona virus, the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, as well as the monetary tightening cycle that the US Federal Reserve ignited at the beginning of 2022.
The crises caused a decline in the value of the local currency, as the pound fell, during the period from July 1 to December 31, 2022, by 31%, from 18.8 to 24.7 pounds against the dollar. While the official price is currently 30.8; It trades in the parallel market at more than 35.5 pounds as an average against the American currency.
