Egypt inaugurates Waldorf Astoria Cairo amid push to double tourists by 2028
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa inaugurated the Waldorf Astoria Cairo Heliopolis Hotel on Wednesday as part of the country's plan to attract 30 million tourists by 2028.
The new facility is one of the hotels of the Gulf Egypt Hotels and Tourism Company, managed by the Hilton International Hotel Management Company.
Issa highlighted the significant increase in tourist arrivals in 2023, as the country received 14.9 million tourists, surpassing the previous record in 2010 of 14.7 million tourists.
However, he acknowledged the need for 200,000 new hotel rooms to achieve the 2028 target of 30 million tourists.
Throughout 2023, Egypt opened or reopened 14,209 rooms, raising its hotel capacity by seven percent, according to the ministry.
In early 2023, the minister stated that due to Egypt’s limited capacity of hotel rooms, the maximum number of tourists that Egypt can attract per year at the time ranges between 14 and 15 million.
In an attempt to increase the capacity, the ministry plans to open 25,000 new hotel rooms by the end of 2024, adding to the total current hotel capacity which stands at 220,044 rooms.
Waldorf Astoria Cairo Heliopolis Hotel includes 235 hotel rooms and 17 suites, with a total of 252 hotel units, the ministry statement added.
