Since 2011, the number of inbound tourists has fallen significantly and the tourism industry is struggling from lack of revenue. The project to open more tombs and pyramids aims to attract visitors back again and perhaps for longer periods.

Visitors currently flock to the most famous pyramids of Giza and Saqqara; however there are more than one hundred pyramids in the country. At Dahshur, there are more than a dozen pyramids, some of largest built in the Fourth Dynasty founded by Pharaoh Sneferu. It was Sneferu that built the famous Bent Pyramid, of which two interior passages will open for the first time to visitors in December. Between Giza and Saqqara lies the royal necropolis of Abusir, home to fourteen pyramids that will open to the public this month.

In addition, to enhance tourism, Egyptians are being urged to learn various handicrafts to show visitors and locals are being trained to become tour guides as a new way of managing tourist sites. Several museums are also under construction and the famous Avenue of Sphinxes between the temples of Luxor and Karnak is opening this month, with about 900 statues and a recently excavated Roman-era village nearby.