Economic Tourism Growth

Overview

Egypt’s antiquities are both a part of its cultural heritage and an opportunity to create jobs and raise incomes. Since the mid-1990s, USAID has provided over $100 million in assistance to conserve monuments and masterpieces spanning from Pharaonic times to the late Ottoman period. USAID focuses on both restoring sites as well as boosting the tourism sector’s role as an engine of economic growth and employment. The sector creates millions of jobs, injects billions of dollars in hard currency into Egypt’s economy, and reduces Egypt’s dependency on foreign debt - fueling Egypt’s Journey to Self-Reliance.

USAID has partnered with the Government of Egypt on large-scale engineering projects to protect several of the country’s most important archaeological sites from rising groundwater that threatens many sites, as well as the homes and health of citizens living around them. The archaeological sites include the Sphinx, Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple, Coptic Cairo, and the Bab Zuweila Gate of Fatimid Cairo, Kom Ombo Temple in Aswan, and the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa in Alexandria. USAID balances cultural preservation with economic empowerment, thus supporting sustainable livelihoods. Additionally, USAID is conserving and restoring two sites – Esna and Medinat Habu – and promoting their inclusion in cultural heritage tourism.