Tourism targeting foreign businessmen visiting Egypt to study investment opportunities in various sectors have boomed. This boom coincides with the economic reform that Egypt has begun implementing in recent years.
Tourism sector specialists said that the acceleration of the growth of the Egyptian economy has encouraged global company executives to flock to the country to ask government officials about investment opportunities and injecting capital into new or existing projects. This has contributed to the rise of logistical services.
The specialists added that the average nightly expenditure for the new type of luxury tourism unit on the North Coast is no less than $15,000, while it exceeds $10,000 for a suite in Cairo hotels overlooking the Nile. This has made business tourism the highest-earning tourism product in the sector.
Egypt attracted approximately 15.7 million tourists last year, compared to 14.9 million in 2023. Inbound tourism during the first quarter of this year reached 3.9 million, a 25 percent increase over the same period last year.
"The influx of foreign businessmen to Egypt has been on the rise recently. This falls under the category of high-net-worth tourism, which represents a small percentage of inbound tourism to Egypt, ranging between one and two percent. When conference tourism for foreign companies is included, the percentage rises to approximately four and five percent," according to a tourism official closely involved in the matter.
He added that the price of a suite in hotels overlooking the Nile in Cairo exceeds $10,000 per night, as executives of international companies who come to Egypt are keen to stay there.
Moataz Sedky, general manager of Travco Holiday Company, a subsidiary of Travco Tourism Group, said that his company provides logistical services to business travellers visiting Egypt. It served approximately 25,000 tourists last year, and the company is targeting 30 percent growth by 2026.
Travco Tourism owns and operates more than 80 hotels and resorts across Egypt, with a total capacity of 20,000 rooms, according to Sedky. This model is important to the company.
"The rise in business tourism in Egypt is due to the economic reform programme implemented by the government in recent years, and the marketing and promotion of investment opportunities in various sectors, in conjunction with the country" security and political stability despite geopolitical tensions in the region," Sedky said.
He added that his company focuses on business tourism and providing logistics. "We have noticed a growth in business tourism coming to Egypt from both the Chinese and Indian markets recently."
Egypt hopes to increase the private sector's contribution to the economy to approximately 75 percent by 2030, through reforming fiscal and monetary policies and facilitating incentives for investors to increase capital investment in various sectors.
Cairo and the North Coast are among the most popular areas for foreign businessmen considering investment opportunities in Egypt. Cairo's hotels overlooking the Nile are also close to the Suez Canal area, a promising development hub where the government is working to market and promote various investment opportunities.
Hesham Idris, chairman of Al Wadi Tourism, a company specialising in business tourism, said: "We provide logistical services to businessmen in the North Coast resorts, El Alamein and Borg El Arab airports, and to wealthy individuals from the region and Europe." He added that the significant development in infrastructure networks, including roads and airports, and the availability of standardised service standards have contributed to the popularity of business and high-net-worth tourism on the North Coast, leading to the price of tourist units, including villas and palaces, exceeding $15,000 per night.
Visiting Egypt requires a high level of precision and quality service, according to the head of Al Wadi Company. He added that the country is undergoing a major transformation, and the North Coast has become a new attraction for yacht tourism in the Mediterranean.
Photo: Business tourism is growing across Egypt. (by Adobe)