The financial crisis in Europe, primarily in Germany, the deteriorating economic situation, and political tensions are seriously affecting the low tourist season in Egypt. As a result, the occupancy rate of hotels in Hurghada was unprecedented and fell sharply. As Sameh Khovaidak, a member of the Red Sea Investors Association told local media, the number of tourists in Hurghada has decreased by 25 to 30%. It is about the period from the beginning of January to the present time.
He noted that Hurghada primarily depends on incoming tourist traffic from Europe, especially from Germany and the Scandinavian countries, as well as from Ukraine and Russia. As a result, the worsening economic situation, plus the acute political crisis, has led to a decrease in the number of tourists from almost all major markets.
However, Hovaidak expects that the situation will begin to improve by mid-March and occupancy will increase. In the meantime, he appealed to the Office of Tourism Promotion, reporting the need to step up promotion on the European market, especially in the eastern and western markets, including Great Britain, Germany, and Poland. Also, according to him, participation in all major tourist exhibitions in Europe is needed to attract the maximum possible number of tourists.
He also stated that tourism is still trying to “come to life” after the pandemic, which was also affected by the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the economic crisis. As a result, tourism needs “state support, permanent investment, and joint coordination” to “restore incoming traffic to the level before the coronavirus pandemic.”
Hovaidak also separately emphasized that beach tourism currently accounts for 85% of traffic entering Egypt, so it should be the main focus. However, Egypt can provide other areas of tourism. In particular, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities organized a familiarization visit for several representatives of major tour operators from Egypt’s main tourism markets, including Germany, England, France, Poland, Switzerland and Spain, in order to acquaint them with the “tourism-archaeological” potential of Egypt. According to Amr El-Kady, director general of Egypt’s General Directorate for Tourism Development, this familiarization visit was conducted “as part of the ministry’s efforts to attract more tourists to Egypt from various tourism markets.”