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TOURISM IN EGYPT SKY-ROCKETS

Monday, 05 Jan 2009

The Egyptian government, in an attempt to bolster visitor numbers to the country to 14 million people, has engaged in a plan to attain this goal by 2011. With recent figures released by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, this undoubtedly looks obtainable. UNWTO figures indicated a 20% increase in visitors for 2007 with a conservative estimate of a 6% increase annually over the next ten years – A good indication that accommodation in Egypt will be very important in this desirable tourist destination in the Middle East.

Egypt holds almost a 25% share in the Middle Eastern market with 10 out of 46 million people visiting Egypt with Cairo and the tourist hotspots of Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh being very popular. It is this popularity that has compelled the government into seeking attention from outside of the country - this attention having a positive impression on property in Egypt.

As an incentive, the government has dropped stamp duty, in conjunction with capital gains tax and inheritance tax for United Kingdom citizens living in Britain. This equated into no tax for non-resident proprietors owning property in Egypt. Incentives such as this are having a welcome effect on investment from overseas with foreign investment, as reported for the 2006/ 2007 financial year, being 8.2% of Egypt’s gross domestic product – a substantial increase over the .5% the previous year.

With the increase in visitors from outside of the country there has been an upsurge between developers looking to lease property in Egypt. Marion Isom of La Siesta Tourism and Real Estate Services says this is excellent news for the buy-to-let market and has been quoted saying that “Tourism figures always have an effect on the property market of a region and this rapid growth in interest in this amazing country is a welcome step forward.” This certainly looks promising for property in Egypt, which is reportedly the lowest in the Middle East.