The total amount of tourists who are expected to visit Egypt by the end of 2021 could reach reach five to six million tourists, which represents 40 percent of the total amount of tourists that visited Egypt in 2019 prior to the pandemic. These projections come in the wake of the recent announcement of the return of direct flights from Russia to Egypt's Red Sea resorts in the near future, according to the Tourism and Aviation Committee of the Egyptian Junior Business Association (EJB). Mohamed Kaoud, head of the Tourism and Aviation Committee, indicated that all tourism stakeholders are awaiting the date for the full resumption of Russian direct flights to Egypt's Red Sea resorts after a five-year suspension. He added that such a decision came as a result of the security measures taken by the Egyptian government to enhance safety and to maintain the well-being of tourists. He stressed that the decision to return Russian tourists to Egypt's Red Sea resorts has a positive effect despite the ongoing challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, given that the Russian tourism market is the most important for the Egyptian tourism sector. "Russia used to export 30 percent of total inbound tourism to Egypt to the cities of the Red Sea and Sharm El-Sheikh, as Egypt received in 2015 approximately 3 million Russian tourists, while Egypt received 100,000 Russian tourists only in 2017 after the Russian plane crisis. Also, the government's decision to vaccinate workers in the tourism sector in Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada has a strong effect on attracting more tourists and preparing for tourist delegations from various countries," said Kaoud. Kaoud also praised the minister of tourism's decision to set a minimum price for the sale of 4-star and 5-star rooms in order to raise the price of Egyptian tourism quality and services in Red Sea cities; the decision will be implemented in November 2021.
