Opportune time for archaeotourism in Egypt

Despite the preventive measures restricting the movement of tourists around the world owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, many tourism experts believe there is now a golden opportunity for Egypt’s archaeological tourism to regain its allure.

According to Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled El-Anany, Egypt’s tourism revenues dropped to $4 billion in 2020, down from $13 billion a year earlier.

But Egypt has the opportunity to reinvigorate the tourism sector, despite the coronavirus, especially after the magnificent events of the Pharaohs’ Golden Parade and the discovery of the Lost Golden City near Luxor, said Radwa Al-Swaify, head of research at Pharos Holding, an investment firm. Archaeological tourism draws in more revenues than beach tourism, which was hard hit due to the pandemic last year.

On 3 April, Egypt held an awe-inspiring parade that made international headlines to transfer 22 royal mummies from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation (NMEC) in Egypt’s first Islamic capital of Fustat.

Al-Swaify expects tourism revenues to reach $7 billion in 2021, saying that the tourism sector will recover in October, by which time the effects of the worldwide roll-out of coronavirus vaccines will be felt.