KSA and Egypt among top 10 destinations for travellers in 2023: Report

This year, Egypt and Saudi Arabia ranked among the top 10 travel destinations, ranking seventh and eighth. While the UK, US, UAE and France remain the most popular international destinations for travellers leaving the Middle East, according to the report.

The report, which presents deep insights into global travel, indicated that consumers, including those from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA),  prefer to travel for leisure and pioneer new corridors of the world.   

Mastercard’s report pointed out that global leisure and business travel is growing at the same rate, a 42 percent year-over-year-to-date change from 2022 to 2023. 

Additionally, the report mentioned that travellers are landing in lesser-known destinations in search of cultural immersion owing to the influence of social media and entertainment.

Egypt's tourism revenue surged by 25.7 percent to around $7.3 billion in the first half of FY 2022/2023, compared to $5.8 billion a year earlier, according to data released by the Central Bank of Egypt. 

Tourism is among Egypt's principal sources of foreign currency.