The number of tourist arrivals from all countries reached 503,000 during August 2016 compared to 915,200 tourists during August 2015, a decrease of 45%, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). CAPMAS stated in its monthly bulletin, issued this week, that the most important countries that influenced the rate of the decrease in tourists is Russia by 55.2%, followed by the United Kingdom (UK) by 15.9%, Germany by 14.0%, and Italy by 6.2%. The Middle East sent the most tourists to Egypt in August, accounting for 37.7% of arrivals, with Saudi Arabia making up the largest share with 39.2% of that percentage. In second place was western Europe with 29.2%, of which Germany made up the largest share with 30.3%. Eastern Europe ranked third with 11.6%, of which Ukraine had the largest share with 32.0%. Tourist arrivals from the rest of the world (the Americas, Africa, the Pacific, south Asia, and other countries) reached 21.4%. The number of tourist arrivals from Arab countries reached 234,800 tourists during August 2016, compared to 171,700 tourists during the same month of 2015—an increase of 36.7% and 46.7% from the total number of tourists. The number of departing tourists reached 549,300 tourists during August 2016, compared to one million tourists during August 2015, a decrease of 45.1% due to the decrease in the number of tourist arrivals. The number of nights spent by tourists amounted to 3.5 million nights during August 2016, compared to 9 million nights during the same month of 2015, a decrease of 61.3%. CAPMAS attributed the decline to the decrease in the number of nights tourists from eastern Europe spent with 92.6 %, with Russia having the largest share in this decrease with 99.5%. Tourists from the Middle East had the largest share in the number of nights spent with 41.4%, with Saudi Arabia taking the largest share in the number of tourist nights by 46.6% from the total number of nights spent by tourists from the Middle East. Western Europe represented 32.4%, with Germany representing the largest share in the number of tourist nights by 36.5%. The percentage of tourists from Africa reached 9.1%. Sudan had the largest share in the number of tourist nights with 76.1%. The number of tourist nights spent by tourists from Arab countries totaled 1.7 million nights during August 2016 compared to 2.1 million nights during the same month of 2015—a decrease of 17.6% of total tourist nights. The average stay of departing tourists reached 6.4 nights during August 2016 compared to 9 nights during the same month of 2015, according to CAPMAS.
