Egypt is adopting the practise of delegation by outsourcing the management and operations of its airports to the private sector. The move was made as the country’s leaders set their sights on the ambitious tourism goal of attracting 30 million tourists by 2028.

According to Zawya, Egypt’s Ministry of Civil Aviation believes the private sector is in a better position to manage airport facilities and expects the move to attract investment in the country’s aviation industry.

The Ministry continued, saying that contributions from the private sector would aid in Egypt’s strategic plans to upgrade infrastructure across its airport network, introduce advanced security systems, expand airline networks and support low-cost carriers.

The announcement comes shortly after Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities revealed visitor numbers reached a new record high during the first half of 2024. The country welcomed 7.069 million people between January and June, up from 7.062 million during the same period last year.

In line with the increase in arrivals, tourism revenue jumped to US$6.6 billion, US$3 million more than the US$6.3 billion made during the same period in 2023. Egypt’s leaders attributed the boost in tourism and revenue to the implementation of a national tourism strategy focused on expanding the capacity of the tourism sector. This includes increasing air services, extending room capacity with new hotels such as the Hotel Inn West Cairo which opened this week, and investing in the cruise industry

Egypt’s smashing tourism results corresponds with the trend of record-breaking visitor numbers to multiple Middle Eastern countries during the first half of 2024, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.