According to Colliers International’s February MENA Hotels Forecast, the Egyptian hotel market saw average RevPAR growth of 30 percent in January compared to the same period last year. Colliers explained that the RevPAR growth was driven by both ADR and occupancy rate due to strong corporate, leisure and MICE activities.
According to the full-year forecast for 2019, Colliers’ analysts expect Cairo, Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada and Alexandria to see occupancy rates of 77 percent, 58 percent, 68 percent and 80 percent, respectively. RevPAR, meanwhile, is poised to reach $98, $27, $39, $65 in Cairo, Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada and Alexandria, respectively, and the major Egyptian markets are expected to see an average year-over-year RevPAR growth of 13 percent for 2019.
“The forecasts for the Egyptian markets continues to be strong, the Red Sea resorts are expected to continue benefitting from positive security perceptions and returning of tourists from major source markets,” the Forecast reported.
Last month, Capital Economics noted Egypt's tourism sector is on track to reach levels not seen since 2010, the year before the Arab Spring sparked political unrest and devastated incoming tourism numbers.
In theory, the report suggested Egyptian tourism could generate as much as $5 billion, and while local paper Egypt Independent acknowledged this goal "seems unrealistic," it also said that it is "not unlikely," given recent trends.