Number of tourists in Egypt increases by 16.5% in May

The number of incoming tourists to Egypt increased by 16.5% in May 2015 compared with the previous year, according to a report by Egypt's official statistical agency the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) on Sunday.

According to the report, the number of tourists in Egypt in May this year reached 894,600, compared with 768,200 in May 2014. Moreover, the number of tourists leaving Egypt in May reached 888,100 people, compared to 776,500 in 2014, indicating a 14.4 percent increase.

The report indicated that tourists coming to Egypt from Eastern Europe represented the highest number of incoming tourists this year at 43.9 percent of the total number. Tourists from Western Europe came next at 30.7 percent of the total number, while tourists from the Middle East represented 13.4 percent and tourists from Africa, Asia and the U.S. represented only 12 percent.

More specifically, tourists from Russia made up 73.3 percent of incoming Eastern European tourists, tourists from Germany were the majority of incoming Western European tourists and tourists from Saudi Arabia were the majority of incoming Middle Eastern tourists.

The report indicated a 23.1 percent increase in the number of Arab tourists coming to Egypt, increasing to 153,700 in May this year from 124,900 in May 2014.

The report also revealed that the number of nights spent by tourists leaving Egypt in May reached 8.6 million, compared with 7.3 million in 2014, while the number of nights spent by Arab tourists leaving Egypt reached 1.5 million in May, compared to 1.4 million nights in 2014.

Tourism is a crucial component of Egypt's economy and one of its main sources of foreign currency. In its best years, the tourism sector employed about 12 percent of the country's workforce and contributed more than 11 percent of its GDP.

In addition, tourism has long been a significant part of Egypt's national identity and pride, compelling millions across the country to contribute to the sector.

Tourism has been slowly recovering in Egypt in the form of small boosts in recent years, as an earlier (CAPMAS) report indicated that Egypt received 9.9 million tourists in 2014, an increase from the 9.5 million tourists it received in 2013.