Egypt's vast new museum overlooking Giza Pyramids holds Tutankhamun's treasures

Egyptian officials are hoping the inauguration of a vast new museum on Nov 1 will accelerate the revival of a tourism industry hampered for more than a decade by internal upheaval, a pandemic and regional conflicts.

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Officials believe the Grand Egyptian Museum, or GEM, alone could draw as many as seven million additional visitors annually after it opens fully on Nov 1, helping to boost total visitors to around 30 million by 2030.

Overlooking the Giza Pyramids, the 500,000 sq m edifice will house tens of thousands of artefacts, including what is billed as the complete collection of the treasures of the boy king Tutankhamun, many displayed for the first time.

The new space includes immersive exhibits and virtual-reality devices, in contrast to cluttered, old-fashioned displays in the older Egyptian Museum in downtown Cairo.

Egypt, which has needed repeated bailouts to stabilise its economy, uses the foreign currency it collects from tourism to pay for crucial imports such as fuel and wheat.

In 2024, the country drew 15.7 million visitors, who spent a record US$15 billion (S$19.5 billion), according to official figures.

Tourism spending had plunged to a low of US$3.8 billion in 2015/16, the victim of extended political turmoil after Egypt’s 2011 uprising.