Cairo vs Cotonou

Cairo leads Cotonou by 1 points on the CIRA Index, 56 to 55. Cairo grades better on 7 measures, Cotonou on 6; the same 35 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: Cairo 56, Cotonou 55
• OECD: Cairo 57, Cotonou 48
• UN Tourism: Cairo 63, Cotonou 50
• UNDRR: Cairo 37, Cotonou 37

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Cairo 92, Cotonou 56
• Economy and jobs: Cairo 67, Cotonou 67
• Climate and hazards: Cairo 15, Cotonou 40
• Water and environment: Cairo 50, Cotonou 38
• Community and housing: Cairo 63, Cotonou 100
• Access and continuity: Cairo 50, Cotonou 38

Where Cairo is stronger

• Nights in the three busiest months: 28.2 % of annual nights (country figure) (World Economic Forum, TTDI 2026 (data: UN Tourism by United Nations World Tourism Organization), 2024, 2025 moving average). At or below 30: grade 4/4.
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 71.1 % average annual occupancy (JLL / STR Global via Economy Middle East, 'Cairo's hospitality market sees strong growth in 2025', Q2 2025). Between 65 and 75: grade 3/4.
• Income per head: 20,204 GDP per capita, USD PPP (country figure) (World Bank WDI, 2025). Between 15,000 and 30,000: grade 1/4.
• Wastewater safely treated: 62.6 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (country figure) (United Nations in Egypt, Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, 2024). Between 50 and 70: grade 1/4.
• 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.
• Access redundancy: 3 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (Oxford Business Group / Cairo Airport Company / Egyptian National Railways, 2024–2026). Between 3 and 4: grade 3/4.
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: Crisis communication only, ad hoc (Egypt State Information Service (SIS), 2024–2026). Grade 1/4.

Where Cotonou is stronger

• Domestic share of nights: 61.7 % of nights by residents of the same country (country figure) (World Economic Forum, TTDI 2026 (data: Travel & Tourism Economic Impact Research by World Travel & Tourism Council; Travel & Tourism by World Travel & Tourism Council), 2026). At or above 45: grade 4/4.
• Unemployment rate: 4.6 % of the labour force (INSAE (now INStaD) via Matin Libre, Enquête Régionale Intégrée sur l'Emploi et le Secteur Informel (ERI-ESI), 2018). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
• Extreme heat days: 0.2 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
• Flood hazard: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4.
• Water scarcity: very low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 4/4.
• Rent growth: -0.2 % change in rents over the last 12 months (country figure) (Institut National de la Statistique et de la Démographie (INStaD) via Trading Economics, August 2025 – August 2026). At or below 3: grade 4/4.

Country context (World Economic Forum)

• Egypt: #63 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
• Benin: #106 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026

Cairo in full · Cotonou in full

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