The Israel-Hamas war in Gaza reduced tourism to Egypt compared to predictions in the fourth quarter of 2023, but the number of visitors increased in the first two months of the year, the country’s tourism minister said on Thursday.
In addition to the impact on tourism, attacks on Red Sea shipping have jeopardized another major source of hard money for Egypt’s faltering economy: revenue from Suez Canal trade.
Tourism Minister Ahmed Issa stated that 3.6 million tourists visited between October and December 2023. Although this was the second largest amount on record for a final quarter, it was 600,000 below the predicted record 4.2 million, Issa noted in an interview on the sidelines of a travel fair in Berlin.
