Italian Arrivals to Egypt Rose 15.1% to 461,000 in the First Five Months of 2026
Egypt received 461,059 Italian tourists between January and May, 15.1 per cent more than a year earlier, making Italy its fifth-largest source market, Veto reports, citing tourism ministry figures. Italy matters particularly to Hurghada and Marsa Alam, but the outlet is explicit that any gain for people here depends on how long visitors stay, what they spend, and whether businesses hire and buy locally.
22 October 2026
Egypt received 461,059 Italian tourists in the first five months of 2026, 15.1 per cent more than in the same period last year, which puts Italy fifth among the country's biggest source markets. The Egyptian outlet Veto reported the figures, citing the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Across more than 15 markets, Egypt received about 5.2 million tourists in those five months, up 8.2 per cent year on year. Russia was the largest source market, followed by Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom and then Italy.
The Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority took part in the TTG Travel Experience trade fair in Rimini from 14 to 16 October 2026, to promote Egyptian destinations and build on its work with Italian tour operators. Its chief executive, Ahmed Youssef, said the Italian market is important for Egyptian tourism, and that the results recorded in the first months of the year reflect positive growth and open the way for more cooperation with Italian partners.
What it may mean on this coast
Veto's own reading is that the Italian market counts particularly for Hurghada and Marsa Alam, where hotels and resorts, restaurants and shops, taxi drivers and boat-trip crews all depend on tourist activity, and where dive centres, safari firms and boat-trip operators would feel higher demand. More arrivals, the outlet writes, could mean extra hiring while occupancy is high, and work in hospitality, restaurants, tourist transport, guiding, cleaning, maintenance and supplies, as well as more passing trade for small businesses selling crafts and souvenirs.
The outlet is explicit that this is potential rather than measured. How much of it reaches people in the governorate, it writes, depends on how long visitors stay, how much they actually spend, and how far tourism businesses rely on local staff and on suppliers from inside the Red Sea governorate. The figures themselves cover January to May, so they describe the market earlier in the year rather than the winter season now beginning.