Egypt tourism minister sets out 2020 growth plan

Egypt hopes to generate $20 billion in revenue from tourism by 2020 by attracting 20 million visitors, new tourism minister Khaled Ramy said on Sunday at an international investment conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh.

Ramy told Reuters that goal was part of strategic plans that include creating two new resorts through nearly $1 billion of investment over five years and hiring a private company to run a three-year advertising campaign.

He said he wanted to counteract the negative news of the last few years which has hampered tourism, a major source of revenue and foreign reserves for Egypt.

More than 14.7 million tourists visited Egypt in 2010, dropping to 9.8 million in 2011. They rose the following year to 11.5 million but shrank back to about 10 million last year.

Ramy said he expected numbers to grow by 15 per cent this year. “The message is right on my face: it’s seven o’clock in the morning and we already have this beautiful sunshine here in Sharm El Sheikh,” he said in a poolside interview at a luxury hotel.