Will World Cup 2018 impact Russian tourism in Egypt?

By: Heba El-Kordy

Cairo – Mubasher: After Russia officially lifted the ban on flights to Egypt, the Egyptian officials have become optimistic about the return of Russian tourism, however there is another question is: Will FIFA World Cup 2018 affect Russian tourism in Egypt?

Given that Russia will host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, scheduled to take place from 14 June to 15 July 2018.

Egypt is likely to attract up to two million Russian tourists this year as Russian flights to Cairo will be resumed early February, Reuters reported, citing a top official at Egypt’s tourism ministry.

Last Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to resume flights between Moscow and Cairo.

World Cup may delay return of Russian tourism

Russian tourism will not return back in Egypt before the second half of 2018, former chief of Tourism and Aviation Division Amari Abdel Azim said.

Russian tourism would not return in H1-18 for political reasons, including the Russian presidential election which will take place in March, in addition to hosting FIFA World Cup, Abdel Azim forecast.

It would be difficult for Russian tourists to head to Egypt amid such events, he noted.

Anticipated revenues

Moreover, Esraa Ahmed, economist at Mubasher Financial Services (MFS), said that the return of Russian tourism to Egypt will positively impact the country's balance of payments (BOP) by achieving approximately $8 billion revenues in the current fiscal year.

Lifting the ban on Russian flights to Egypt will help the tourism sector of the North African country to recover gradually, Ahmed highlighted.

Egypt’s tourism revenues have dropped to below $4 billion per year since 2015 after a Russian airliner crashed in Sinai.  

CEO of the Tourism Development Authority Hisham El Demery had previously said that the number of tourists who visited Egypt rose by 55% year-on-year in the first 11 months of 2017.

Tourism revenues of the Arab world's most populous country are forecast to grow to $7 billion and the number of tourists who visited Egypt to reach 7.5 million by the end of 2017, according to deputy tourism minister.

Translated by: Mai Ezz El-Din