Egypt Targets One Million Chinese Tourists Annually

The Egyptian Travel Agents Association is targeting one million Chinese tourists annually in the coming years, up from approximately 360,000 in 2025, according to board member Haitham Arafa.

Chinese arrivals have risen steadily in recent years, from around 165,000 in 2023 to nearly 300,000 in 2024 and about 360,000 in 2025. Arafa said the longer-term ambition is to attract as many as three million Chinese visitors a year.

Chinese tourists typically spend between USD 1,800 and USD 3,500 per trip and stay for around eight to 12 days, with cultural and heritage tourism and Nile cruises among the main draws.

Arafa said reaching the one million target will require more direct flights between Chinese cities and Egyptian destinations, stronger partnerships between airlines, tourism companies and Chinese travel platforms, and more promotional activity in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

He also called for tourism programmes tailored more closely to Chinese travellers, combining archaeological and cultural sites with Nile cruises, beach and desert trips, eco-tourism, interactive experiences and sound-and-light shows.

Other measures include expanding Chinese-language information and support, making commonly used Chinese payment methods more accessible and training tourism-sector staff to better serve visitors from the market.

Arafa also pointed to Egyptian archaeological exhibitions in China as a useful promotional channel and said President Xi Jinping’s recent visit could create further opportunities for tourism and aviation cooperation between the two countries.