This year will be an extension of last year regarding the anticipation of the tourism investment situation, according to an official at the General Authority for Tourism Development (GATD). He said that the authority offered many land parcels last year, but spaces are still small for large areas with a great demand. Tourism investment over the past four years fell by 75%, compared to the period before 25 January 2011. The authority plans to raise five projects for integrated development during the Economic Summit in March, with investments worth EGP 5.2bn, the official added. The project projects are considered an exploration process of the real estate investment market, the official said, adding that large areas were offered by the authority over the past four years. The land area exceeds 18m sqm, although no one has applied yet, but when lands were offered in Ain Sokhna, the demand was great. The process of offering lands over the years before 25 January 2011 did not take into consideration supply and demand, according to head of the Egyptian Federation of Chambers of Tourism, Elhamy El-Zayat. El-Zayat believes that Egypt currently has 225,000 hotel rooms, in addition to 108,000 rooms under construction, and that the tourist flow to Egypt remains low. Total tourism income in Egypt last year reached $7.5bn, with a growth of $1.6bn compared to the year before. Although tourism income in Egypt last year increased by $1.6bn, it is still considered small given Egypt's large tourist potential, the official said. He added that this creates more pressure on investors in light of the high cost of construction and the lack of funding. The tourism sector is suffering from an inability to pay bank dues over the past four years, prompting the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to postpone dues to mid-2015. El-Zayat said that hotels and resorts are suffering from declining tourism, adding that with an increase in the travel influx to Egypt, there will be great growth that meets the growing demand on Egypt. He added that despite the tourism crisis, there is still a great demand on Egypt, and he expects a period of stability soon. The Red Sea is considered the biggest area with hotel rooms under construction.
