Although travel to the entire Middle East continues to face severe disruption after the joint U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran, long-term tourist interest in Egypt is attracting the attention of both airlines and hotel operators.
In 2025, the North African nation saw a record 19 million tourists, alongside Morocco and South Africa as the most-visited countries in Africa.
The Egyptian government recently scrapped the visa-upon-arrival fee for tourists from dozens of countries, and flag carrier EgyptAir has recently received DoT permission to run new flights to Los Angeles and Chicago from Cairo on an Airbus A350-900 by the end of 2026.
On the hospitality end, luxury hotel group Mandarin Oriental has now also committed to opening two additional five-star resorts to its Egyptian portfolio. Mandarian Oriental will take over the management of Old Cataract hotel in Aswan and Winter Palace in Luxor from competing chain Sofitel in 2026 and 2027.
Mandarin Oriental will take over hotels in Luxor and Aswan from Sofitel
The latter property overlooking the Nile River and the Temple of Luxor complex was built in 1886 and, as part of the transition to the Mandarin Oriental portfolio, will undergo a full renovation before reopening for the summer travel period in 2027.
The hotel group is also choosing to launch its expansion into river cruises from Egypt with three-, four-, and seven-night itinerary options between Aswan and Luxor.
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Details on everything from the time frame to the vessel used remain scant, but Mandarin’s plan is to create a link between its different properties and market an extravagant cruise along the Nile to travelers.
This also comes amid the ongoing redevelopment of the newly purchased Mandarin Oriental Shepheard in Cairo for a 2027 reopening.
Sofitel
“Egypt is one of the fastest-growing global destinations”: Mandarin Oriental
“Egypt is one of the fastest-growing global destinations and presents a rare opportunity to create a journey that is both culturally rich and uniquely Mandarin Oriental,” Mandarin Oriental CEO Laurent Kleitman said in a statement.
The company also classified its Egyptian river cruise plans as an effort to “form a fully integrated, destination-led journey between Cairo, Luxor, and Aswan.”
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Mandarin Oriental currently has no properties in Egypt, so the three new hotels mark a head-first leap to expand into the country as quickly as possible, as competitors also rush to do the same.
IHG Hotels & Resorts is also expanding its Egyptian portfolio with a new 130-room Hotel Indigo property in New Cairo slated to open in 2031, while new Four Seasons properties in New Cairo and Luxor also near completion.
It is too early to determine how tourism may suffer from what could become a prolonged conflict across the entire Middle East. Still, interest by luxury hotel groups is driven by past growth of the luxury travel market to Egypt in particular.
Data from analytics firm Deep Market Insights show that the high-end sector of experiential tourism opportunities, such as private Nile cruises and archeological tours, has grown by more than 400% over the last five years as high-spending travelers increasingly seek them out.
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