Egypt grand museum delay puts tourism hopes on hold
Originally scheduled to fully open this month, the museum was expected to attract up to five million visitors annually, fuelling optimism across Cairo's battered tourism sector.
"We planned our entire summer and fall packages around the museum opening," said Nadine Ahmed, a 28-year-old agent with Time Travel tours.
"But with group cancellations, refunds and route changes, we've lost tens of thousands of dollars."
Though parts of the museum have been open for months, the main draw -- the treasures of Tutankhamun -- will remain under wraps until the official launch.
Less than three weeks before its July 3 opening, the government announced another delay, this time pushing the landmark event to the final quarter of the year.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly cited regional security concerns and the desire to host an event of "global scale".
Decades in the making
The vast museum, two decades in the making, has faced repeated delays -- from political upheaval and economic crises to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ahead of the expected launch, Mona, who asked to be identified by her first name only, took out a loan to renovate her store and stock up on goods inspired by the museum's collection.
A few streets away, Mohamed Mamdouh Khattab, 38, prepared months in advance, hiring and training extra staff and expanding his inventory.
"The opening of the museum is a key milestone," said Khattab, who owns a sprawling bazaar of handcrafted jewellery and ancient replicas.
"It's a project that should have been launched a long time ago," said the vendor, whose family has been in the industry since the 1970s.
Tourism accounts for about 10 percent of Egypt's workforce, but the sector has struggled -- from the fallout of the 2011 Arab Spring to militant attacks and the Covid shutdown.
Still, signs of recovery have emerged: Egypt welcomed 3.9 million tourists in the first quarter of 2025, up 25 percent from the same period last year -- itself a record.
Fragility
At a Giza papyrus workshop, 30-year-old tour guide Sara Mahmoud hopes the opening will revive visitor numbers.
"Big openings have brought a lot of tourism to Egypt before," she said, pointing to the 2021 Pharaohs' Golden Parade and the reopening of the Avenue of the Sphinxes.
"These events get people excited -- we saw the crowds coming in."
Such momentum could make a real difference, said Ragui Assaad, an economist at the University of Minnesota.
"Any initiative that directly increases foreign exchange earnings is likely to have a good return on investment," he told AFP.
"If you compare it with all the other mega-projects, which do not increase foreign exchange earnings... this is a far better project."
He was referring to a sweeping infrastructure drive under President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, including the construction of a massive new administrative capital east of Cairo.
The stakes are high: since 2022, Egypt's currency has lost two-thirds of its value, squeezing household budgets and straining every layer of the economy.
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Hotel prices are up almost 10% since before the pandemic, while the cost of eating out has risen by almost a third, according to government data. For years, tourists from across the world have included stops at US luxury stores and outlet malls on their list of must-dos when visiting the country. Though e-commerce and international expansion mean the days of filling suitcases with half-price US brands are in the past, there are still some bargains to be found — especially for visitors from countries where certain products are priced at a premium. Last year, shopping was the top leisure activity among the more than 48 million foreigners who flew to the US, a survey by the ITA found, topping sightseeing and visits to national parks, monuments and museums. Visitors could be further deterred by the cost of visas, which are set to rise significantly due to new fees detailed in Trump's multitrillion-dollar tax and spending bill. 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4 hours ago
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Travel-related spending, which typically grows each year, has been virtually flat this year through May when compared to the same period in 2024, data from the US International Trade Administration show. Meanwhile, foreign arrivals to the US by air were down 6.6% in June compared to last year, according to the ITA. 'Tourists would come with empty suitcases and they would go out, fill the suitcases up and then ship those suitcases home,' said Floris van Dijkum, a managing director at Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Now, habits are changing. 'The jury is still out on the ultimate impact, but clearly you're going to see some pressure,' he said. Betto Souza, who has been working as a tour operator in South Florida for over a decade, is experiencing the shift first hand. While his clients — predominantly Brazilians like him — are still flocking to Miami for big events like the Miami Open and Formula One Grand Prix, they're being more selective about what to spend their money on. 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Hotel prices are up almost 10% since before the pandemic, while the cost of eating out has risen by almost a third, according to government data. For years, tourists from across the world have included stops at US luxury stores and outlet malls on their list of must-dos when visiting the country. Though e-commerce and international expansion mean the days of filling suitcases with half-price US brands are in the past, there are still some bargains to be found — especially for visitors from countries where certain products are priced at a premium. Last year, shopping was the top leisure activity among the more than 48 million foreigners who flew to the US, a survey by the ITA found, topping sightseeing and visits to national parks, monuments and museums. Visitors could be further deterred by the cost of visas, which are set to rise significantly due to new fees detailed in Trump's multitrillion-dollar tax and spending bill. And in recent weeks, the president has been threatening new tariffs on imports from countries including Brazil, Mexico and South Korea. Canada has already seen widespread boycotts on all things American. The unease among tourists is adding to challenges for everyone from mom-and-pop owned retailers to big companies like Macy's Inc., where Chief Executive Officer Tony Spring recently indicated that international tourism took a toll on sales last quarter. The company, which owns luxury brands Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury as well as its namesake stores, said its forward guidance was based on overseas shoppers staying away. Other companies have suggested US consumers could help offset some of the losses. UK fashion brand Burberry Group Plc said last week that a slowdown among tourists globally was the most challenging part of its business worldwide, but that sales in the Americas beat forecasts in the quarter through June, driven by 'new local customer growth.' Luana Krewer, a 24-year-old college student from Brazil's capital, Brasilia, returned in May from a two-week trip to Orlando and Miami with her family. She was on the hunt for a Coach bag, but said that shopping in the US 'is very different from what it used to be.' Compared to costs on her last visit in 2018, when she found deals on Apple products and the Brazilian real was almost twice as strong against the dollar, 'I thought the prices were very expensive,' she said. Ultimately, she spent more than 1,000 dollars on clothes at the discount store Ross Dress for Less and Florida's outlet stores, picking up products from Nike, Gap Inc., Victoria's Secret & Co. and Target Corp. Back in midtown Manhattan, Selma Aydin manages the New York Gift Store near the Rockefeller Center, selling souvenirs including New York Yankees hats and shirts to tourists. She said fewer people are visiting the store this year, and they're spending less. 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