Cairo – Mubasher: Egypt’s travel and tourism gross domestic product (GDP) has marked 16.5% growth in 2018, contributing EGP 528.7 billion or 11.9% to the state’s total economy.

International visitors in the North African nation have spent around EGP 218.1 billion last year, which accounts for 27.3% of Egypt’s total exports, according to a report by the World Travel and Tourism Council.

Arrivals are expected to reach nearly 11.7 million tourists by the end of 2019, the report said.

The tourism sector has provided around 2.48 million jobs in 2018, representing 9.5% of total employment, the report highlighted, projecting job offers to reach 3.22 million by the end of this year.

German visitors have topped Egypt’s total arrivals by 13%, while Russian visitors made up 12% of arrivals followed by the UK, Saudi Arabia, and Italy who made up 7%, 6%, and 3% of the list respectively, it added.