The Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Ahmed Issa, urged the banks and the private sector institutions to provide hotel investment incentives according to the new regulations approved in a cabinet meeting on 20 December 2023. Issa held a meeting today with Mohamed Amer, the head of the Central Administration for Hotel Establishments, Shops, and Tourist Activities at the Ministry. Ahmed Youssef, the Assistant Minister for Corporate Communication and the spokesperson for the Ministry, also attended the meeting. The meeting was part of the regular follow-up on the efforts to improve the supply of the Egyptian tourist destination, according to the national strategy for tourism development in Egypt. This is important for enhancing the investment climate in tourism and increasing the number of hotel rooms, to accommodate the expected number of tourists. The meeting reviewed the growth in the number of hotel rooms, the numbers to be opened soon, and the latest measures to encourage and improve the hotel investment climate in Egypt. Amer presented a detailed report on the status of the hotel rooms added to the existing capacity in Egypt from December 2022 to December 2023. This included the opening of new hotels, the reopening of closed hotels, and the expansion of existing hotels. The number of new or reactivated hotel rooms during this period was 14,209 rooms, achieving a remarkable growth rate of 7% in the hotel capacity in Egypt, reaching a total of 220,044 rooms by December 2023. The new hotel rooms, in different star categories, provided about 15,600 direct jobs and 70,000 indirect jobs. The new hotel rooms were divided into two categories: the first category included new or added rooms, with 7,325 rooms in 5, 4, and 3-star hotels in various regions in Egypt. The second category included closed rooms that were reopened, with 6,884 rooms opened during this period. The number of closed rooms decreased from 23,099 in December 2022 to 16,215 in December 2023. The meeting also reviewed the status of the hotel rooms that are expected to be opened and operated in the next period. It is expected that 25,000 hotel rooms will be opened by the end of 2024. Issa stressed the importance of speeding up the construction of the required hotel rooms to meet Egypt's inbound tourist demand, especially to welcome 30 million tourists by 2028.
