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Business travel, new airport boost Egypt hotel forecasts

According to Colliers International’s MENA Hotel Forecast for 2019, resorts in Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, are expected to see forecasted growth of 13 percent and 12 percent, respectively, in revenue per available room (RevPAR). The increases will likely be driven by the corporate and event sectors paying higher average daily rates.

As a whole, the country is benefitting from improved safety perceptions that have helped bring international visitors back after nearly a decade of decline, and hotels are seeing the benefits. In Cairo and Giza (two cities that make up a part of the Greater Cairo metropolis), occupancy grew 11 percent to 72.5 percent in 2018, ADR was up 10.8 percent to EGP1,713.35 and RevPAR increased 23.1 percent to EGP1,242.20.

A new airport also is poised to help. Last month, the Sphinx International Airport began trial operations close to Giza, 7.5 miles away from the famous pyramids. 

The airport's location could attract brief visits from around the region. “There are no charter flights that land at Cairo International Airport, while the Sphinx airport will receive these low-cost flights that attract a large number of tourists,” Alaa el-Ghamry, a tourism expert and former member of the Egyptian Travel Agents Association, told local paper Al-Monitor.

The airport could ease pressure on Cairo International Airport, which is the largest such facility in the country. “The Sphinx airport will also be better than other nearby airports such as Borg al-Arab, which is located in Alexandria, in terms of its capabilities,” Ghamry said.