The number of tourists visiting Egypt rose by 8.2 percent in the first half of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014, according to the latest official figures.

In the period from January to June 2015, Egypt welcomed 4.8 million tourists, compared to 4.4 million tourists in the same period of the previous year, the state statistics agency CAPMAS said in a statement Saturday celebrating World Tourism Day.

Around 45.1 percent of visitors in 2014 came from Eastern Europe, mainly Russia at around 70.4 percent, while 31.6 percent were from Western Europe with UK tourists representing 29 percent of that number.

Some 13.6 percent of visitors were from the Middle East, with Saudi tourists representing the majority at 26.1 percent, with Africa ranking next with four percent and Sudanese tourists being the majority at 46.8 percent.

Some 2.1 percent of visitors were from North America, with American tourists representing the majority at 74 percent.

Egypt's tourism sector has seen a relative recovery in the last year after receiving a blow following regime changes in 2011 and again in 2013, seeing 9.9 million tourists in 2014, up from 9.5 million in 2013.

Tourism has traditionally been one of Egypt's main sources of vital foreign currency.