Hotel Occupancy Tops 75% as Tourism Chief Urges Hurghada–Ras Banas Road
Occupancy in Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh is holding above 75% despite regional tensions, says the tourism chambers' chief — who wants a Hurghada–Ras Banas expressway to open up the far south.
1 August 2026
Hotel occupancy in Egypt's main resort destinations, led by Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh, is averaging above 75% despite regional tensions, according to Hossam El-Shaer, chairman of the Egyptian Federation of Tourism Chambers, in remarks at a tourism writers' association seminar reported by Al-Bawaba News.
El-Shaer said the war in the region has changed booking behaviour rather than demand: travellers now hold off until close to departure, so early-booking figures — especially for the autumn — look weaker than the season will actually be. Some hotels are responding with promotional rates to stimulate early reservations. He also backed setting a minimum floor for hotel room rates, arguing it would protect service quality and stop undisciplined price-cutting.
The road he wants built
El-Shaer called on the state to complete the strategic projects the sector still lacks — foremost a coastal road linking Hurghada to Ras Banas in the far south. An expressway on the model of the El Alamein road, he argued, would transform development of the southern Red Sea coast: new resorts, more hotel capacity and room for far more visitors in the coming years. Ras Banas has the makings of a major destination, he added, but needs infrastructure investment and simpler land-allocation and licensing procedures to draw in private developers.
On the sector's resilience, El-Shaer noted Egypt received about 2 million tourists in 1990 and is targeting 20 million this year, while hotel capacity has grown from under 50,000 rooms to more than 220,000.
Correction: an earlier version of this article described the Hurghada–Ras Banas road as already driving tourism growth. The road is a proposed project El-Shaer urged the state to complete.