The total number of tourist arrivals to Egypt increased 21.1 percent annually in the first half of 2010 to reach 6.581 million, according to data from the government statistics agency CAPMAS. The period also saw a notable 17.6 percent annual increase in the overall number of tourist nights spent, which reached 65.704 million nights during the six months to June 2010, up from 55.868 million during in the same period last year. During 2009, the overall number of tourist arrivals fell 2.3 percent to 12.536 million, data showed. Tourists from west and south Europe topped the list of arriving tourists, representing 47.1 percent of total arrivals during the year, according to a note from investment firm Beltone Financial. This was followed by eastern European tourists who accounted for 28.7 percent of total tourist arrivals. Arab tourists accounted for 15 percent of total tourists, with Libya topping the list of (21.8 percent), followed by Saudi Arabia (18.5 percent) and Jordan (8.7 percent). “We had expected tourist arrivals to start recovering as the global economy picks up some positive momentum, especially that Egypt remains competitive in both price and product, compared to neighboring destinations (namely Turkey and Lebanon),” Beltone said. Recently released Balance of Payments data has shown that tourism receipts rose 17.6 percent in the first half of the year to reach $5.6 billion, while overall tourism receipts during the fiscal year 2009/10 up 10.5 percent to $11.6 billion.
