Egypt, once a hugely popular holiday destination among tourists from around the world, has seen its tourism numbers plummet since the political unrest of last year.
The country is now embarking on a tourism drive to boost visitors, and is set to reveal some of its most ancient artefacts in a bid to attract holidaymakers.
Since the Arab Spring, tourist numbers have slumped by more than a third. Egypt welcomed 14.7 million tourists in 2010, but just 9.8 million last year.
One of the main draws for holidaymakers is Egypt’s ancient history, and the country is planning to make the most of its illustrious past to re-establish itself as a popular tourist destination.
The country is set to open the doors to the tomb of Queen Meresankh III, in Giza, for the first time in more than two years later this year.
Queen Meresankh III was the granddaughter of Egyptian pharaoh Khufu, who is widely regarded to have built the famous pyramids of Giza.
The final resting places of five high priests are also set to be opened to the public, in a move that is sure to attract visitors to this exceptional country.
“We want to give people a reason to come back, to give them something new,” Ali Asfar, director general of archaeology on the Giza plateau told The Washington Post.
A new museum, which will display historical artefacts from Egypt’s past, is currently being built in Cairo. The Grand Egyptian Museum will open in 2014, and is set to be a state-of-the-art facility.
Figures from the easyJet Holidays website recently showed that tourism in Egypt is already on the rise, with the country the most popular destination on the site in January this year.
Traffic to the easyJet Holidays website’s Egypt pages increased by 10 per cent in May, and by a further 20 per cent in June.
(Images: Ricardo Liberato, Captmondo, Mike Slagter)
