08/09/2026
Egypt's tourism minister chairs first meeting on 2027 solar eclipse preparations
Egypt's Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy chaired the first meeting of a committee preparing to host the total solar eclipse crossing Luxor and Siwa on 2 August 2027, the ministry said Tuesday.
The eclipse will give Luxor and Siwa some of the longest totality windows worldwide, ranging from five to more than six minutes. That positions Egypt to capture a rare wave of astro-tourism 11 months out.
Fathy's ministry said the committee will coordinate logistics, transport, security, and site preparations across government agencies to ensure Egyptian and foreign visitors can watch the phenomenon safely.
Fathy opened the meeting at the ministry's headquarters in the New Administrative Capital by welcoming the committee's members.
He stressed the need for regular sessions to track preparations and keep the agencies involved coordinated, the ministry said in a statement. Fathy formed the committee in May, tasking it with organizing Egypt's response to what he called an exceptional astronomical event.
The minister described the eclipse as "an important opportunity to promote the Egyptian destination." He called for preparations wide enough to project "the image that befits Egypt's status as a tourism destination."
Fathy also pointed to strong interest from tourists worldwide in watching the phenomenon from Luxor and Siwa. The meeting came as Egypt posted record tourist arrivals in early 2026, with international visits up 16 percent in the first quarter compared with the previous year.
Committee members discussed coordinating with Egypt's Meteorological Authority to fix exact eclipse timings across the governorates involved.
They also agreed to work with the Ministry of Local Development to identify sites for hosting visitors. Those sites must include basic services such as cafeterias and restrooms to ensure tourists' safety and comfort, officials said.
In Luxor, the Supreme Council of Antiquities has already been restoring temple facilities to expand visitor capacity ahead of the eclipse.
The committee also flagged the need to secure transport for tourists travelling to see the eclipse. Officials discussed domestic flights, coordinated with the Civil Aviation Ministry, and land transport between governorates.
They said the arrangement would let tourists already in Egypt add the eclipse to their itineraries, whether through day trips or overnight stays in the host governorates.
Officials from the Supreme Council of Antiquities, the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Tourism, and the Chamber of Travel and Tourism Agencies also discussed aligning museum and archaeological site visiting hours in Luxor during the event.
The aim is to fit the programmes of tourists arriving specifically to watch the eclipse. Siwa, the remote Western Desert oasis expected to share the longest totality window with Luxor, has drawn renewed attention since the Shali fortress restoration sought to position it as an ecotourism hub.
On marketing, the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority and the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Tourism agreed to design a dedicated logo for the eclipse. They also agreed to set up a channel to field questions from foreign tourists interested in travelling to Egypt for the event. The push builds on a digital tourism campaign the promotion authority ran with booking platform WEGO to target Arab travellers.
The ministry said the committee's members include the chief executive of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority, the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and the assistant tourism minister for tourism companies’ affairs.
The committee also includes the chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Tourism, the head of the ministry's hotel establishments department, and the minister's aides for aviation, follow-up, and digital transformation. Representatives of the finance, interior, and civil aviation ministries, including Egypt's Customs Authority, round out the panel.
Egypt's tourism sector logged nearly 19 million tourists in 2025, a 21 percent rise from 2024 that the government has credited partly to new attractions opening across the country.
