The number of tourists heading to Egypt is expected to reach 12 million by the end of 2018, with an increase estimated at 40-50 percent year-on-year by the 2018/19 season, according to Hamed el-Chiaty, Chairman of Travco Group. Through number of media statements dedicated to the privately-owned media outlet of Youm7, el-Chiaty who is the head of Travco Group, one of the largest travel and tourism companies in the Middle East, asserted Egypt will see new tourists from British and Ukrainian markets. He further said other new markets will target Egypt as a touristic destination such as Latvia, Hungry and Lithuania, noting that Egypt's participation in the recently-held ITB Berlin will yield positive results. He explained that charter flights will be operated from these markets to Egypt's tourist cities and expects these markets will export big numbers of tourists in the short term future. Chiaty expected the number of tourists to reach 12 million by the end of 2018, noting that it is necessary that authorities work to improve services rendered to tourists and enhance the capacities of workers in the tourism sector. He also pointed out that the importance of the role of the Ministry of Tourism in tightening monitoring on hotels, to measure the quality of services provided to tourists, and to impose fines when there is negligence. Egypt's tourism sector, representing approximately 12 percent of the economy, has experienced significant problems in recent years, particularly since the downing of a Russian civilian aircraft over the Sinai Peninsula in October 2015, which killed all 224 passengers on board. Russia, along with a host of European countries including the UK, suspended flights to Egyptian resorts after the incident. Source: Egypt today
