• Egypt welcomed 19 million tourists in 2025, up 21% from 2024.
• Charter flight traffic rose 32% during the year, with flights arriving from 193 cities worldwide.
• The government targets 30 million foreign tourists annually by 2028.

Tourist arrivals in Egypt reached 19 million in 2025, representing a 21% increase from 2024, Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy said on Saturday, Jan. 3. “This growth, which exceeds the global average estimated at 5% by the World Tourism Organization, reflects Egypt’s competitiveness as a safe destination and the success of our strategy to offer diversified tourism products while improving service quality,” he said.

The minister also said charter flight traffic increased 32% over the year, with tourist flights arriving from 193 cities worldwide. These figures signal a consolidation of the sector’s recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic, which cut tourist arrivals in Egypt from 13 million in 2019 to about 3.7 million in 2020. In 2024, North Africa’s most populous country welcomed 15.7 million visitors.

The Egyptian government aims to raise annual foreign tourist arrivals to 30 million by 2028. Authorities plan to support this objective through airport modernization and expansion, the rollout of an integrated electronic visa system to streamline entry procedures and improve border efficiency, the construction of cruise ports, and the development of new hotel capacity.

Tourism ranks among Egypt’s main sources of revenue and employment. In 2024, the sector generated about $15.3 billion for the country, according to official data.

Walid Kéfi