Egypt is expanding its tourism accommodation options with new regulations for holiday homes, aiming to ease the current shortage of hotel rooms amid rising visitor numbers, the country’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy said.
Speaking at a press conference at ATM 2025 in Dubai on Monday, he said Egypt’s tourism sector recorded 15.78 million visitors in 2024, a 6 percent year-on-year increase, and a record-breaking 21 percent increase over pre-pandemic levels.
He pointed out that while the initial forecast for 2025 targeted a 6 percent rise [to 16.8 million tourists], international tourist arrivals rose by a whopping 25 percent in the first quarter itself compared to last year.
“We are happy with the developments, but we are extremely challenged by the lack of rooms to accommodate the demand…that’s why we’re encouraging all types of investments in rooms and hotels,” he said.
Fathy said the newly approved set of minimum standards for holiday homes is modeled on the Airbnb business approach. The move is expected to benefit regions such as the New Valley and Aswan, where many properties have traditionally operated informally without license from the tourism ministry.
“We are excited to see that the demand for registration with the ministry is increasing every day,” he said.
Additionally, the ministry has waived all charges related to converting the license of a property from any business to touristic business, offering an incentive for investment in both holiday homes and hotels.
Noting that Egypt’s tourism vision for 2031 targets 30 million annual visitors, Fathy said achieving this goal will require doubling the number of hotel rooms.
“If the supply of rooms grows ahead of schedule, the tourism target could be met earlier,” he said.
In February 2025, Zawya Projects had reported that Egypt is expected to add 5,891 hotel rooms in 2025, the fourth largest contributor in Middle East and Africa region after Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar respectively.
Holiday homes are expected to cover 75 percent of the current shortfall of 200,000 hotel rooms in Egypt, according to tourism marketing expert and CEO of Digital Experts Alaa Khalifa.
Investment opportunities bank
Fathy also disclosed that the Ministry is also working on creating a centralised “investment opportunities bank” for the tourism sector. Under this plan, all land plots suitable for tourism projects — currently managed by four different entities — would be marketed through a unified platform. The initiative aims to simplify the investment process for developers and attract capital into expanding Egypt’s accommodation capacity.
“If we succeed, I think it’s going to be a breakthrough,” he said.
He also disclosed that the Ministry plans to revise its full-year forecast after the second quarter of 2025 to reflect the 25 percent rise in international visitor numbers in the first quarter.
The increase was supported by traditional source markets as well as rising arrivals from China, Turkey, Spain, Russia, and India. Saudi Arabia remained a key market, sending approximately two million visitors and ranking among the top five contributors.
Fathy said air connectivity remains a priority, with increased flights needed particularly from Asian markets and Egypt’s open skies policies continue to support efforts to expand visitor numbers.
“Whoever wants to fly to touristic destinations barring Cairo is most welcome and will not be stopped for any reason,” he said. This year, the government has raised incentives for airlines to operate to Luxor and Aswan during the off-peak season to steer traffic.
He said daily tourist spending remains at approximately $94–$95, although hotel room rates have increased by around 30 percent since the beginning of the year.
“We’re going to review it, but for the time being, we’re talking about the same number,” the Minister said, noting that higher-spending visitors largely come from the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia, as well as the United States, and China.
Opening of Grand Egyptian Museum
Separately, Fathy reconfirmed that the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza is preparing for its full opening on 3 July this year. GEM, which currently has less than 50 percent of its galleries open to visitors, will close between June 15 and July 15 for the opening ceremony.
“Visitor numbers to the GEM currently range from 5,000 to 7,000 per day, even with the museum partially open,” noted the Minister, adding that he expects an increase in both visitor numbers and their length of stay once the museum is fully operational.
In addition to galleries, the GEM houses a Research and Development Centre and the relocated Khufu Boat Museum.
Fathy said the goal for the GEM, alongside the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation, is to play a leading role in global Egyptology, with plans to host two major conferences each year focused on Egyptology, archaeology, and Egyptian history.
(Writing by Anoop Menon; Editing by SA Kader)
(anoop.menon@lseg.com)
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