Alexandria vs Cairo
Cairo leads Alexandria by 8 points on the CIRA Index, 56 to 48. Alexandria grades better on 4 measures, Cairo on 2; the same 35 measures from public sources for both.
Scores by each organisation's criteria
- CIRA Index: Alexandria 48, Cairo 56
- OECD: Alexandria 54, Cairo 57
- UN Tourism: Alexandria 53, Cairo 63
- UNDRR: Alexandria 47, Cairo 37
Theme by theme
- Demand and seasonality: Alexandria 79, Cairo 92
- Economy and jobs: Alexandria 67, Cairo 67
- Climate and hazards: Alexandria 30, Cairo 15
- Water and environment: Alexandria 31, Cairo 50
- Community and housing: Alexandria 25, Cairo 63
- Access and continuity: Alexandria 63, Cairo 50
Where Alexandria is stronger
- Domestic share of nights: 66 % of nights by residents of the same country (RoAid (Romanian Agency for International Development Cooperation) & Alexandria Governorate - Impact Study 2019 Phase-1 of Tourism Development for the city of Alexandria-Egypt (Alex-Smart), 2019). At or above 45: grade 4/4.
- Extreme heat days: 8.8 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). Between 5 and 15: grade 3/4.
- Access redundancy: 4 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (Encyclopaedia Britannica & Alexandria Port Authority, 2026). At or above 4: grade 4/4.
- Early warning and emergency plan: An updated city plan with public early warning for heat, flood or fire (UNDRR & NL Platform, 2026). Grade 3/4.
Where Cairo is stronger
- Average length of stay: 9.9 nights per visitor (country figure) (Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities / Road Genius Egypt Tourism Statistics, 2024). At or above 3.5: grade 4/4.
- Municipal waste per resident: 310.3 kg per resident per year (IHE Delft / Hemidat et al., Municipal Solid Waste in Egypt, 2022). At or below 350: grade 4/4.
Country context (World Economic Forum)
- Egypt: #63 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
- Egypt: #63 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
Alexandria in full · Cairo in full
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