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At a time when the nation has been economically struggling due to a severe foreign currency shortage, Egypt on 27th March, Monday, announced a number of steps targeted at enhancing access to visas to increase tourism income.
The first multiple-entry visa will be made available by Egypt, and additional nationalities will now be eligible for visas-on-arrival. The Egyptian Minister of Tourism declared this. It is the first time the government has provided multiple-year visas, and the move comes as the North African country seeks to increase crucial tourism-related revenue.
A single-entry, 30-day visa on arrival is now accessible to more than 180 nations for $25, while a 5 multiple-entry visa will be obtainable for $700. In reference to this, Ahmed Issa, Minister of Tourism & Antiquities, noted that among the small number of countries on the list, India and China also have a spot.
The revisions are the outcome of a strategy to boost tourism, a major provider of foreign currency & employment for the economy of Egypt, which has been adversely affected by the Covid-19 outbreak and the Russia-Ukraine war. By 2028, the nation intends to double the 11.7 million tourists it welcomed in 2017 to 30 million, a rise of 25 to 30 % per year.
In comparison to the first 2 months of last year, there were more tourists in January & February, according to Mr. Issa. While the top two tourist destinations, Russia and Ukraine, had declines of 40% and 80%, respectively, other nationalities more than made up for the loss.
Travel from nations like the United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain grew. Italian tourists became more prevalent by 250 %. Mr. Issa declared that he was convinced Egypt would surpass its goal of Fifteen million tourists this year, making it a record year.
He asserted that China does have the potential to rank among Egypt's top ten source markets. Amongst the 150 million Chinese tourists globally in 2019, roughly 220,000 traveled to Egypt. According to data from the UN World Tourism Organization, the epidemic cost worldwide destinations a combined $270 billion in outbound Chinese visitor expenditure in 2020 and 2021.
Hu Heping, China's Minister of Culture & Tourism, will visit Cairo from April 1-4 and meet with the tourism ministry to discuss "the beginning of a new relationship," according to Mr. Issa. He said that Egypt will be easing immigration requirements for Turks, Algerians, Israelis, Moroccans, and Iranians, with specifics to be revealed in the coming days.
He said that twenty museums had opened in the last four years, as well as the Greco-Roman Museum in Alexandria will soon follow suit. According to Mr. Issa, the long-delayed Great Egyptian Museum, that has been under development since 2005, is anticipated to open sometime between October and January.
The new tourism strategy is being overseen by Mr. Issa, who was appointed in August during a cabinet reshuffle. It calls for investing around $30 billion and calls for more than doubling the total number of hotel rooms to 300,000. It also calls for boosting the number of seats on arriving planes.
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