CAIRO, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Some 4.9 million tourists visited Egypt in the first six months of 2022, with an increase of 85.4 percent compared to 2.6 million tourists in the same period of 2021, Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced on Tuesday.
Marking World Tourism Day, CAPMAS said that "eight million tourists visited Egypt in 2021, a 117.5-percent increase compared to 3.7 million tourists in 2020."
Meanwhile, hotel occupancy during the first half of 2022 was 52.6 million nights, a 63.6 percent increase compared to 32.2 million nights in the first half of 2021, it said.
"Rise in numbers of tourists visiting Egypt in 2021 and the first half of 2022 is a good indication of recovery after the COVID-19 that caused a sharp decline in numbers due to the policies of the lockdown imposed worldwide," said Ashraf al-Sahah, member of Egyptian Tourism Federation.
In 2019, tourism revenues hit a record high with 13.03 billion U.S. dollars with the number of tourists reaching 13.1 million.
The tourism expert told Xinhua that the Russia-Ukraine crisis has impacted the tourism sector as the two countries were the top sources of tourists to Egypt.
He also expected a high increase in 2023 after the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum. ■