Tourism is one of the most important sectors in Egypt's economy. More
than 12.8 million tourists visited Egypt in 2008, providing revenues of
nearly $11 billion. The sector employs about 12% of Egypt's workforce
In 2000, there are about 5.5 million foreign tourist arrivals. In 2010,
the number of the foreign tourist arrivals is about 14 million
On the other hand, in 2013, Egypt is ranking the 85th position of
world's best country in terms of tourism and traveling, while in 2011,
it was the 75th
In 2010, the receipts for the international tourism in Egypt is
$13,633,000,000. With a great increase, Egypt raised an amount of money
that was about $2,942,000,000 in 1998
Civil unrest in 2011 caused tourism to decline as visitors chose not to
travel to an unstable and potentially dangerous country. The number of
visitors dropped to 9 million in 2011 from over 14 million the previous
year. This affected several parts of the Egyptian economy, from travel
accommodation to car rental, air transportation, health and wellness and
tourist attractions. Tourism operators introduced heavy discounts in
order to bring tourists back and prices remained low at the beginning of
2012
Major attractions
The celebrated tourist attractions of Egypt are the millennia-old
monuments for which the Nile Valley is world famous. Principal among
them are the Pyramids and Great Sphinx at Giza, the Abu Simbel temples
south of Aswan and the Karnak Temple Complex and Valley of the Kings
near Luxor. Cairo also boasts the Cairo Museum and the Mosque of
Muhammad Ali Pasha and the coastal areas of Sinai Peninsula are very
popular with visitors as well
Giza, 20 km southwest of Cairo, is the site of some of the most
impressive and oldest (26th century BC) ancient monuments in the world,
including a complex of ancient Egyptian royal mortuary and sacred
structures, including the Great Sphinx, the Great Pyramids of Giza, a
number of other large pyramids and temples, and Cairo's modern tower
Saqqara, some 30 km south of Cairo is a vast, ancient burial ground
which served as the necropolis for the Ancient Egyptian capital of
Memphis. It features numerous pyramids, including the world's oldest
standing step pyramid, as well as a number of mastabas
Luxor, about 500 km south of Cairo, is the site of the ancient city
of Thebes and has sometimes been called "the world's greatest open air
museum". It includes the ruins of the temple complexes at Karnak and
Luxor, which stand within the modern city. On the opposite side of the
Nile River lie the monuments, temples and tombs on the West Bank
Necropolis, which include the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the
Queens.
Abu Simbel, about 850 km south of Cairo (near the Sudanese border)
is an archaeological site comprising two massive rock temples originally
carved out of a mountainside during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II
(13th century BC). The complex was relocated in its entirety in the
1960s to avoid being submerged during the creation of Lake Nasser. They
are now situated on an artificial hill made from a domed structure high
above the Aswan High Dam reservoir
Alexandria is a main summer resort, due to its beaches, ancient
history and Museums, especially the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a modern
project based on reviving the ancient Library of Alexandria.
Sinai Peninsula- Sinai has become a tourist destination due to its
natural setting, rich coral reefs, and biblical history. Most popular
tourist destination in Sinai are Mount Sinai ("Jabal Musa") and St.
Catherine's Monastery, which is considered to be the oldest working
Christian monastery in the world, and the beach resorts of Sharm
el-Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba
Ain Sukhna, about 110 km east of Cairo has a number of beach resorts
