Morocco’s annual trade deficit contracted by 7.3% to 286 billion dirhams ($28.6 billion) in 2023, helped by a drop in energy imports and higher tourism revenue, the foreign exchange regulator said in a monthly report.
20.01.2024 - 17:19 / skift.com / Dawit Habtemariam / Yves Marceau / Africa
Egypt received a record-breaking number of tourists in 2023 despite the war between Israel and Hamas, according to a statement by the country’s tourism ministry on Thursday.
The country brought in 14.9 million tourists, beating the previous record of 14.7 million tourists in 2010, said Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa.
After the war broke out in October, multiple tour operators told Skift they saw a spike in trip cancellations from Western travelers.
“We saw this whole fear of quick escalation between Israel and other Middle Eastern countries,” said Yves Marceau, vice president of product for G Adventures, in December. “Right off the bat, Egypt, Jordan tanked. Anything in the Middle East tanked.”
Even though the war started in October, tourism to Egypt continued to grow, with 3.6 million tourists in the last three months. That was up 8% from 2022 though 600,000 short of Egypt’s goal.
Issa attributed Egypt’s record year to his ministry’s efforts like expanding hotel room capacity and going after new markets and encouraging Arab tourism.
By December, the war hadn’t spread as some feared, and tour operators said they saw fewer cancellations. Bookings for 2024 are beginning to pick up, said Marceau, but are still low.
Morocco’s annual trade deficit contracted by 7.3% to 286 billion dirhams ($28.6 billion) in 2023, helped by a drop in energy imports and higher tourism revenue, the foreign exchange regulator said in a monthly report.
There's nothing like the new Fontainebleau Las Vegas — and there's nothing like a status match. Lucky for us, you can have it all.
Wheeling my luggage past the sliding doors, it was hard to believe I was in the middle of Newark Liberty International Airport and not a hotel lobby. Upon entering the light-filled room, I walked past a wooden bookshelf lined with eclectic decor to the fruit-infused water station sitting on vibrant flooring. This was all far from what I'd come to expect of an airport lounge.
A dream trip to Egypt ended up a nightmare for one French tourist after she was falsely accused of trying to smuggle an antiquity home as a souvenir.
Geotourist and the West Africa Tourism Organisation (WATO) are partnering in a revolutionary data initiative to generate visitor data insights that are not currently achievable in the region. The initiative will be rolled out across 19 different countries,including:
Sponsored by
Plans are in full force for the highly anticipated second staging of the Global Tourism Resilience Conference in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Taking place over a two-day period, the Global Tourism Resilience Conference will include panel discussions, networking opportunities, presentations and lively debates on matters of building resilience in tourism. This group of experts in their collective fields will gather to collaboratively discuss issues that are central to future-proofing travel and tourism to various disruptions moving forward. Global tourism resilience will once again take centre stage with key experts on building resilience in the industry. As tourism destinations continue to recover, it is critical that tenacity is a focus of planning and development to future proof the industry from any potential shock,” said Founder of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC) and Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett.
United Airlines is betting on adventure travel this year, adding a slate of summer routes to national parks and outdoor destinations in Canada.
King Charles III's youngest brother, Prince Edward, is attending a royal visit to one of the world’s most remote islands, St Helena.
Roots tendril out of the grassy banks, piercing the surface of the water, while giant dragonflies skim the heads of water buffaloes cooling off in the 46C heat. Nearby, African sacred ibises stand regally in the shallows and vocal laughingthrushes nestle between the seven-foot reeds. My eyes are locked on the watery scenes — I’m hoping to spot a crocodile nostril or a slinking scale, at least.
Air travel to and from Israel plunged in the last three months of 2023 amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, but the number of passengers traveling through Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv still rose 10% in 2023.
International tourism will rise by 15% in 2024 from last year, according to data shared by United Nations World Tourism Organization Friday. In fact, it will also exceed 2019 levels by 2%.