CAIRO - The official opening of Egypt's Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is expected to boost the country's tourism industry and inject fresh momentum into its economy, tourism experts said, as the long-awaited landmark adds a new attraction to Egypt's cultural landscape.

Mohamed Othman, head of the Cultural Tourism Marketing Committee in Upper Egypt, said the GEM's debut was not only a cultural milestone but also a catalyst for reviving cultural tourism, extending visitors' stays, and helping Egypt move toward its goal of attracting 30 million tourists annually in the coming years.

Located on the Giza Plateau, just 2 kilometers from the Pyramids and the Sphinx, the GEM spans approximately 500,000 square meters, establishing it as the world's largest museum dedicated to a single civilization.

After two decades of construction, the billion-dollar complex opened officially on Saturday evening in a ceremony attended by dozens of international delegations, including heads of state and government.

The museum houses more than 100,000 artifacts spanning thousands of years of Egyptian history, including a 12-meter-tall, 3,200-year-old statue of King Ramses II. Overlooking the pyramids, its design symbolically links the new landmark to the last surviving wonder of the ancient world.

"For the first time, tour operators are designing entire programs around the museum, with week-long visits focused solely on exploring its treasures," Othman told Xinhua, saying this reflects the GEM's strong economic impact on the tourism sector.

He said the museum has already spurred new business and job opportunities in Giza, creating tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs. It is also encouraging visitors to travel onward to Luxor and Aswan to see the sites where many of the displayed artifacts were discovered, creating a new tourism flow from Cairo to Upper Egypt rather than competing with it.

Tourism is one of Egypt's main sources of foreign currency, along with remittances, Suez Canal revenues, and exports. The sector has continued to recover despite regional instability.

Tourism revenues reached 15.3 billion US dollars in 2024, up 9 percent from a year earlier, with visitor arrivals rising 5 percent to 15.7 million, according to official data. The government aims to attract around 18 million visitors in 2025.

At the opening ceremony, Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy said the GEM was expected to attract about 15,000 visitors a day, or roughly 5 million a year, making it a major driver of future tourism growth.

The centerpiece of the museum is the complete collection of the boy king Tutankhamun -- 5,992 artifacts including his iconic golden mask, gilded coffins, royal chariots, and other treasures -- displayed together for the first time since the discovery of his tomb in 1922.

Abdel Fattah al-Assi, a former assistant minister of tourism and antiquities, said the GEM would give Egypt a stronger competitive edge in global tourism.

"It's a one-of-a-kind museum devoted entirely to ancient Egyptian civilization," he told Xinhua, noting that international publicity around the opening has already generated new interest from tour operators and travelers.

Al-Assi said revenues from ticket sales, services, and cultural tourism will inject much-needed foreign currency into Egypt's economy, comparing the GEM's economic role to that of the Suez Canal.

He explained that the museum's proximity to the Pyramids, combined with major infrastructure upgrades -- like new highways, hotels, and the Sphinx International Airport -- will significantly simplify travel and lodging. This will motivate tour operators to start offering Cairo trips along with resort packages to places like Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh.

"The GEM will reshape Egypt's tourism map, especially in Cairo," al-Assi said. "Its impact on the country's tourism industry and economy will be profound."