Egypt’s delayed, $1bn (£812m) Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) will finally open to the public by May 2024, more than a decade after it was due to be unveiled. Work started on the vast archaeological museum in Giza in 2005, but the original opening date of 2012 was set back by major events including the Arab Spring and Covid pandemic.
The country’s Minister of Tourism, Ahmed Issa told i that the museum – one of the largest of its kind – could soft open in February, but the ticketing system must first be confirmed. In the meantime, work continues apace as 200 antiquities are installed “every day” from other cultural sites across its 81,000 sq metres of floor space and 12 exhibition halls.
GEM’s centrepiece, the Tutankhamun Halls, are now “completely finished”, according to Mr Issa, containing more than 5,000 of the artefacts unearthed from the Boy King’s tomb, including his death mask, mummy and solid gold sarcophagus.
“The halls will be a case study in how the King benefited from advances in technology, 200 years before the demise of his civilisation”, explained Mr Issa. Tutankhamum was a pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, his death marking the end of the its royal line. It is thought that he ruled from the age of around nine to 19 in the 14th century BC.
Further highlights of the 100,000 artefacts expected to be on display at GEM will be two reconstructed solar boats used to transport pharaohs to the afterlife, as well as sphinxes, royal mummies and interactive pathways that bring ancient Egypt’s diverse history to life.
Once open, the museum is expected to attract more than five million tourists to Egypt each year.
Despite the conflict in neighbouring Gaza, visitor numbers are only showing signs of a temporary drop-off.
Mr Issa told i that in the week leading up to 3 November, Egypt received 300,000 tourists, of which 20,000 were from the UK.
“We’ve seen a 61 per cent increase in UK visitors compared to the same week in 2022”, he said, adding that 560,000 Britons had visited the country so far this year, representing annual growth of 36 per cent.
While he acknowledged that some tour operators have seen a drop in bookings for Egypt over Christmas, he was confident that numbers would not decline.
Thomas Cook, which relaunched as an online travel agent under Chinese owners Fosun in 2020, notes that Egypt has been popular among its customers this year, largely thanks to its winter sun value proposition. While Thomas Cook has seen an impact on bookings since the conflict in Gaza – down by around a third year-on-year – October was still the company’s fourth-biggest month for Egypt.
Bookings are already showing signs of recovery, up 15 per cent on the previous week and are expected to continue in the same trend.
Sterling has seen a sharp increase in value against the Egyptian pound since the beginning of 2023, currently buying more than E£9 than a year ago. The cost of living in Cairo is almost two thirds cheaper than in London. Tour operators such as easyJet Holidays have week-long, all-inclusive package holidays to Red Sea resorts such as Sharm el-Sheikh for as little as £424pp this month.
