The
United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) released a report this week
ranking Egypt’s tourism market as the second-fastest growing in the world in
2017, right after Palestine.
Despite
UK and Russian flights ban to Egypt since 2015, international tourist arrivals
to Egypt witnessed a 51 percent hike this year, following Palestine which
ranked in the first position with a 57.8 percent increase in international
tourist arrivals this year.
“That
hasn’t stopped other nationalities flocking to the country, which has witnessed
a 51 per cent spike in international tourist arrivals this year and is on
course to welcome nearly eight million holiday travelers in 2017,” the report
said, adding that the number is still well below the 14 million who visited in
2010.
Egypt
is followed by the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean and Iceland
ranks fourth. The latter’s 35 percent surge is thought to be in part due to the
popular TV series “Game of Thrones,” which was filmed on the island, and partly
thanks to the Icelander policy of offering free stopovers in Iceland to people
en route between Europe and North America.
