The Egyptian Minister of Tourism Ahmed Issa has announced that tourists coming from 180 nationalities who have a valid visa for the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Japan or the Schengen countries, which they have used at least once, will be able to get tourist visas-on-arrival for Egypt.
According to the Minister, through Egyptian ports or online, 78 nationalities can continue to obtain an emergency tourist visa, VisaGuide.World reports.
In addition, Minister Issa also pointed out the Ministry’s strategy to increase inbound tourism to Egypt by 25 to 30 percent annually.
Figures from the Central Bank of Egypt in October show that between 2021-2022 Egypt secured $10.7 billion in tourism revenue, up from $4.9 billion secured during 2020 and 2021.
Ahram Online reported that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Egypt’s tourism sector saw a drop of $13.03 billion in revenue in 2019 and $4.1 billion in 2020.
During 2019, the country also received 13.1 million tourists, a number that dropped to 3.7 million in 2020 and only increased to around eight million in 2021.
As Issa explains, Egypt’s aim is also to increase the volume of inbound air travel in cooperation with the Ministry of Aviation.
The Minister of Tourism added that the country also aims to improve the investment climate in tourism, increase the number of hotel rooms, as well as improve the general tourist experience and the quality of services offered.
In December, the Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El. said that Egypt targets investments of about 7.4 million EGP or approximately $250 million in 2022/2023, compared to 6.2 billion EGP or $210 billion in 2021/2022, an increase of 19.4 percent.
According to the VisaGuide Passport Index, the Egyptian passport ranks 160th in the world as of January 2023, which means that Egyptian citizens can travel visa-free to only 21 countries around the world completely visa-free, 32 with a visa-on-arrival, and 23 with an e-visa. On the other hand, to enter the remaining countries, Egyptian passport holders must apply for a visa in advance.
For visa-free travel, travelers must still have a valid passport, usually valid for at least six months after the date of departure, and travel health insurance must be purchased as required by the chosen destination country.
Whereas, to get an eVisa, the process is more or less the same as applying for a traditional visa since travelers do not need to visit a visa application center but can submit the online application, including the visa payment.
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