Arab Finance: Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly held a meeting with Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathi to follow up on measures to stimulate the tourism sector amid the current geopolitical challenges.
Madbouly highlighted the sector’s major contribution to the national economy, emphasizing the need to sustain its growth and increase inbound and outbound tourist traffic as part of the government’s goal to attract 30 million tourists annually.
To achieve these goals, the government is working on enhancing the overall tourist experience by upgrading airport infrastructure and improving services at archaeological and recreational sites in cooperation with the private sector.
The prime minister also stressed the need to explore mechanisms to mitigate the repercussions of rising global energy prices and their direct impact on air travel and tourism, ensuring the continued flow of these sectors without any drop.
In this regard, Fathy outlines the ministry’s proposed incentives for airlines aimed at easing the burden of higher energy costs on their operations to maintain inbound tourism levels compared with the same period last year.
For his part, Minister of Civil Aviation Sameh Elhefny pointed out that Egypt maintained its stable air traffic during March and April 2026.
At the end of the meeting, Madbouly directed both ministries to coordinate on finalizing the proposed incentives and submit them to the Cabinet for approval.
On May 13th, Madbouly witnessed the signing ceremony of two agreements for the management and operation of the newly developed digital system for obtaining visas upon arrival at Cairo International Airport.
He said the visa-on-arrival system backs the government’s efforts to improve the tourist experience while simplifying procedures at Egyptian airports and advancing the digital transformation strategy.
It is worth highlighting that Egypt’s tourism sector recorded a 21% growth in 2025, which continued at the beginning of 2026 with a monthly increase of 20% when compared to last year.
In March, Fathi announced receiving 244 requests to support the expansion of the country’s hotel capacity with investments estimated at EGP 16 billion.
