Egypt hotel pipeline grows with rising tourist numbers

• Tourism revenue at $12bn in 2026
• Forecasts predict 3% growth this year
• New properties to add 46,000 rooms

Egypt has 185 hotels in development, increasing by 42 the number of hotels that were under construction last year.

The country is planning for a projected increase in the number of tourists as it aims to maintain its position as one of the world’s top tourism destinations.

The new facilities will add 46,000 rooms.

There were 109 hotels under construction in 2024, 103 hotels in 2023, 85 in 2022, 67 in 2021 and 54 in 2020, according to a government report.

The number of tourists visiting Egypt increased to almost 13 million in the first eight months of 2026, the report showed.

As a result, tourism revenues grew to nearly $12 billion from $11.8 billion in the same period, it said, adding that international forecasts point to a 3 percent growth in the tourism and travel sector this year.

The increase is expected to boost the sector’s contribution to GDP to around $36 billion during 2026 from $35 billion during 2025. The number of workers in the sector will also rise above 3 million.

Egypt’s tourism income is expected to swell from just under $20 billion during the 2025-2026 fiscal year to almost $21 billion during 2026-2027 and peak at close to $30 billion during 2030-2031, the report said, citing data by the International Monetary Fund.

Tourism and remittances from overseas expatriates provide a large part of Egypt’s hard currency. Other key earners are Suez Canal revenues, exports and foreign aid.

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Egypt’s tourism revenue grew by nearly 15 percent to more than $14 billion in the first nine months of the 2025-2026 fiscal year, from $12 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year.

Recent government figures showed that cash remittances by overseas Egyptians, mainly from those in the Gulf, climbed by a third year on year to about $35 billion during the same period.

Egypt has been locked in a drive to develop its hospitality industry along with the manufacturing sector and other export-oriented products to increase hard currency inflow and tackle fiscal and trade gaps.