The tough days that Egypt's tourism industry has faced seem to be finally over after four years, according to Middle East and Africa Area Director of STR Global Philip Wooller. Wooller made his comments during the Egypt Briefing Conference, which was held in the Cairo Four Season Hotel last week, organised by Arabian Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC). In the early to mid-stages of 2014, following the establishment of the new government, several countries lifted travel restrictions to Egypt and the much needed tourists started to return. Wooller added that if the political stability continues, 2015 will be a good year for Egypt. "Demand for hotel rooms across Egypt in the second half of 2014 (July to December) increased by 58% resulting in an additional 6 million rooms being sold," Wooller said. "In Cairo, demand for rooms increased by 91% in the same period resulting in an additional 1 million rooms sold. In Sharm El-Sheikh, demand increased by 45% resulting in an additional 372,000 rooms sold." At the end of 2014, there was a reported 34.6% increase in revenue per available room (RevPAR), when compared to the total for the previous year. After the RevPAR declines for 2013's third and fourth quarters (-50.4% and -32.5%, respectively), 2014 managed to grow this measure in both quarters by 151.6% and 86.6%, respectively. Wooller added: "The average daily rate growth has also been interesting and although not to the levels of the occupancy, growth has risen steadily since 2001." However this measurement is still low on the ‘Global Average Room Rate Index' and this remains the challenge for Egypt. If the trend continues, however, which all things considered it is likely to, then the future looks bright for Egypt, Wooller said. The AHIC Regional Briefings are an initiative launched by the organisers to expand the reach of the AHIC community. The Briefings provide an intelligence update on the local hotel market, and ensure the AHIC 2015 programme is fresh and relevant to the Middle East market place. AHIC 2015 is organised by Bench Events and Middle East Economic Digest (MEED). The MEED brand represents an unrivalled portfolio of high calibre business information products, online services and premier networking events.
