American hotel giant Hilton is planning on increasing the size of its Egypt estate by adding 1,000 new rooms in a vote of confidence in the Egyptian economy. 2017 has witnessed a dramatic leap in the number of tourists visiting Egypt, who stayed in Hilton's hotels in Cairo, Hurghada, Sharm El-Sheikh, other coastal cities, Mohab Ghali, vice president operations for Egypt and North Africa, said Sunday evening. Hilton is due to add more 1,000 new hotel rooms in its hotels in New Cairo, Maadi, and Port Said by next year, amid expectations of witnessing a massive boost in tourist numbers by the return of Russian flights and tours, Ghali said. This will contribute to the provision of around 3,000 job opportunities in various specialties, he added. Moscow halted civilian air traffic to Egypt in 2015 after militants detonated a bomb on a Russian Metrojet flight leaving the tourist resort of Sharm el-Sheikh and killing 224 people on board. The bombing and the Russian suspension were blows to Egypt's tourism industry, a key source of hard currency. The industry has been struggling after the upheaval triggered by a 2011 uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule.
