Tourism booms in Upper Egypt’s Aswan

On the morning of a sunny Spring day, dozens of boats were busy sailing back and forth in the Nile River, carrying groups of tourists visiting the Philae temples on an island in Upper Egypt’s charming city of Aswan.

Tourists coming from different countries enjoyed the beautiful weather and the marvelous buildings of the Philae temple complex with giant ancient pylons and columns overlooking the Nile.

“It’s been three days in Aswan. We went to Abu Simbel temples a little south (of Aswan). They are really beautiful places, architecture and history. It’s amazing!” Aghiles Abbad, an Algerian man living in Canada, told Xinhua.

The number of tourists in Egypt dropped to around 3.7 million in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, after it saw a boom in 2019 with over 13 million visiting the North African country, according to official data. It gradually recovered to about 8 million in 2021 and further flourished throughout 2022 to near pre-pandemic numbers.

The gradual recovery coincided with Russia’s resumption of direct flights to Egyptian Red Sea resorts in August 2021, after a six-year suspension following a 2015 deadly Russian plane crash over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

In January this year, the first Chinese tourist group since the outbreak of COVID-19 arrived in Egypt, marking the return of tourists from China, one of the most significant tourist source countries, to further boost Egypt’s tourism.

Groups of Chinese tourists led by Egyptian guides were seen visiting the Philae temples, taking photos and listening to the guide’s introduction of the ancient structures.