Cairo maintained its rank among the top five tourist destinations in the Middle East and Africa region for the fifth consecutive year in terms of international overnight visitors, according to the 2016 MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index. The index noted that Cairo registered a growth rate of 1.5% in the number of international overnight visitors in 2015/2016 to be ranked fifth among the top 10 destination cities in the Middle East and Africa. The index noted that 98.5% of visitors to Cairo are coming for leisure in addition to other purposes. General Manager of Egypt and North Africa at MasterCard Magdy Hassan said that the findings of the index show that Cairo is holding its own as a tourist destination in the Middle East and Africa region, specifically when it comes to leisure travel. The MasterCard Index of Global Destination Cities ranks cities in terms of the number of their total international overnight visitor arrivals and the cross-border spending by these visitors in 132 destination cities.

Source: Daily News Egypt October 16, 2016 14:15 UTC