CAIRO: Egypt has completed construction on 4,000 new hotel rooms, which will enter into service once global travel restrictions are lifted, according to a source at the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism.
Egypt’s hotel capacity currently stands at 205,000 rooms and is set to exceed 215,000 rooms by the end of 2021, an increase of 4.8 percent.
Assistant Minister of Tourism and Antiquities for the Control of Hotel and Tourist Establishments Abdel Fattah Al-Assi said that the average tourist occupancy in hotels at the beginning of 2021 until mid-February was about 50 percent, compared to about 80 percent during the same period last year before the coronavirus pandemic took hold.
Egypt allowed the resumption of international tourism at the beginning of July 2020 in three governorates — the Red Sea, South Sinai and Matrouh — after initially halting all operations in mid-March 2020.
As part of the country’s latest efforts to control the spread of COVID-19, the Ministry of Tourism has decided to allow hotels to operate at a maximum of 50 percent.
A source said that the number of hotels that had obtained permits to receive tourists had reached 725 fixed properties and 75 floating hotels in Luxor and Aswan.
The Ministry of Tourism has launched the “Shatty Fe Masr” initiative to encourage local Egyptians to visit archaeological sites in areas such as Luxor, Aswan, the Red Sea and Alexandria. The source estimated the number of hotels that participated in the initiative at about 150, of which more than 50 percent of them had shares of floating hotels.
The source also said, “the occupancy in Hurghada is better than Sharm El Sheikh, in light of the high percentage of local tourism from Egyptians who prefer it to any other area.”
Reuters reported in January that Egypt’s tourism revenues in 2020 decreased 70 percent to $4 billion, as the number of travelers to the country fell from 13.1 million in 2019 to 3.5 million last year. Tourism accounts for about 15 percent of Egypt’s GDP.
Egypt set to exceed 215,000 hotel rooms by end of 2021
https://arab.news/z9e5e
Egypt set to exceed 215,000 hotel rooms by end of 2021
- Egypt’s hotel capacity currently stands at 205,000 rooms and is set to exceed 215,000 rooms by the end of 2021
- The country allowed the resumption of international tourism at the beginning of July 2020 in 3 governorates
Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 10,847
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index dipped on Wednesday, losing 58.51 points, or 0.54 percent, to close at 10,847.93.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR3.78 billion ($1 billion), as 73 of the listed stocks advanced, while 187 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index decreased, down 7.09 points or 0.48 percent, to close at 1,472.98.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu lost 178.75 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 22,916.83. This comes as 30 of the listed stocks advanced, while 37 retreated.
The best-performing stock was the Power and Water Utility Co. for Jubail and Yanbu, with its share price surging by 8.47 percent to SR31.24.
Other top performers included Saudi Paper Manufacturing Co., which saw its share price rise by 6.13 percent to SR53.70, and Jamjoom Pharmaceuticals Factory Co., which saw a 4.58 percent increase to SR137.
On the downside, the worst performer of the day was CHUBB Arabia Cooperative Insurance Co., whose share price fell by 5.14 percent to SR17.53.
Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. and Arabian Internet and Communications Services Co. also saw declines, with their shares dropping by 4.87 percent and 4.43 percent to SR4.88 and SR181.40, respectively.
On the announcement front, Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. announced its annual financial results for 2025, with sales dropping 3.06 percent year-on-year to SR8.45 billion. The company also recorded a net loss of SR893.86 million.
In a Tadawul statement, the company said the net loss and decline in annual sales were driven by a drop in average selling prices, despite higher sales volumes.
