Purpose: This research aims to be one of the earliest studies to investigate tourism e-learning in Egypt, thus, it will initially shed light on the current standing of e-learning in Egypt before proceeding to: identify the present status of e-learning in Egyptian tourism higher education; explore the potential advantages and drawbacks of using e-learning in tourism higher education; and explore the suitability of e-learning for tourism higher education. Design/methodology/approach: Data for this research have been collected by adopting a combination of "content analysis" and "semi-structured interviews". However, a pilot study was initially conducted before applying the main methods of research. Findings: Despite the relative newness of the Egyptian e-learning experiment, the Egyptian government has succeeded in establishing the required infrastructure for e-leaning. However, deficiencies still exist especially regarding qualifying the Egyptian academics to participate efficiently in the e-learning process. Regarding application, tourism e-learning is applied to a limited extent in Egypt at the present time, as only seven public colleges are currently providing some e-learning services, which are mostly of a simple nature. Tourism private colleges are currently languid concerning the application of e-learning despite the potentiality of success especially with regard to serving international students. Originality/value: Despite the importance of both tourism and tourism education for a country such as Egypt. this research is the first to investigate the applicability of tourism e-learning in Egypt. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)