by WorldTribune Staff, August 31, 2018

Egypt’s tourism revenues increased by 77 percent in the first half of 2018, a government official said.

“Indicators suggest the sector will earn about $9 billion by the end of this year,” the official told Reuters, adding there were expectations of greater tourist traffic from western Europe, Italy, Germany and Ukraine towards the end of the year.

Tourism, a vital industry for Egypt, suffered greatly due to internal unrest beginning in 2011 and the threat of terrorism thereafter.

Some 5 million tourists have visited Egypt in the first half of 2018, the official said. A total of 14.7 million people visited Egypt in 2010 before the unrest began.

Egypt’s government said it highlighted the “recovery in tourism” when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the release of the fourth installment of a $12 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) in June.

In addition to economic reforms, the government of President Abdul Fatah Sisi said it has undertaken new efforts to promote tourism worldwide, including regional sponsorship of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the launch of a new campaign on Instagram called ‘Experience Egypt’ which can be viewed on the social platform’s new digital TV tool IGTV.

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  Abdul Fatah Sisi, IGTV, IMF, Revival: Egypt’s tourism revenues up substantially in first half of 2018, tourism, WorldTribune.com