Cairo’s hospitality sector is shaking off the impact of the global pandemic and gradually showing signs of recovery, according to JLL’s Q3 2021 Real Estate Market Overview report released today.
While performance is not yet back to pre-Covid levels, the third quarter has seen the sector turn a corner with occupancy rates registering 41% in the YT August 2021, compared to 29% in the same period of last year.
Helping to boost the sector has been the Egyptian government’s easing of flight restrictions and the permitting of hotels to increase operational capacity from 50% to 70%. This also follows the notable increase in vaccination rates over the past quarter.
This relaxation of rules has worked to the advantage of hotel operators with domestic tourism slightly increasing as people opted for staycations rather than travelling abroad over the summer season. A modest increase in tourism from some of the Gulf countries also helped over the three months.
“Over the medium to long-term, the rate of recovery will be dependent on the government’s efforts in speeding up the roll-out of its vaccination programme, coupled with its strategy to enhance and deliver new and existing tourist destinations,” said Ayman Sami, Country Head, JLL Egypt.
Looking ahead, activity in Cairo’s retail sector is expected to increase in the fourth quarter as people return from their summer vacations and the focus shifts back to the city.