EGYPT –  The chairperson of Egyptian Hotel Association (EHA), Mr Maged Fawzy has revealed that the association will add about 8,000 hotel rooms by the beginning of 2020 to accommodate the rising number of tourists visiting the country.

Mr. Fawzy in an interview with Daily News Egypt further revealed that the hotel rooms are estimated to be worth US$800 million and are part of about 100,000 hotel rooms which are currently in various stages of development.

Egypt’s tourism industry is currently witnessing a lot of achievements. Its most notable achievement is its revenue hike by 28.2% during last the Fiscal Year (FY), recording $12.6bn, compared to only $9.8bn in FY 2017-2018, according to the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) balance of payment.

In addition, the UK lifted its ban on Sharm El Sheikh late October after nearly a four-year suspension of flights to Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh.

The sector also updated its hospitality criteria for Egyptian hotels that has not been updated since 2006 and adopted the Egypt Tourism Reform Program (ETRP) that all the world praise.

EHA’s Chairman also revealed the association in partnership with the state was working towards making the EL-Alamein region attractive to foreign clients through improving infrastructure and establishing new airports.

Fawzy further revealed that even as Egypt was readying itself to embrace the increased number of tourists, EHA was working closely with hotels to ensure that they observed set environmental, health, and hygiene standards.

This according to Fawzy would make Egyptian hotels more competitive, something which would boost Egypt’s attractiveness as a preferred tourist destination.

EHA’s long-term strategy involves focusing on developing the skills of hospitality employees by organizing training sessions covering various areas to improve the level of service in Egypt’s hotel industry, in addition to improving hygiene through the new hospitality criteria. 

The EHA has allocated EGP12m (about US$743,200) to train 12,000 workers annually in addition to 8,000 workers trained through the training Programme funded by the EU.

The Egyptian Hotel Association is the primary umbrella for Egyptian Hotels, it provides support services which include training and development of the association members and staff to enable them to become internationally competitive.