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Egypt military-led government tightens security measures for tourists

April 12, 2014 at 3:08 pm

The Egyptian ministers of tourism and interior issued a joint decision to tighten security measures around touristic trips following recent bombings that hit the country.


The decision obliges the ministry of tourism and the tourism police and travel agencies to issue licenses for tourists.

According to the decision, “the ministry of interior will take charge of securing tourists based on the program of the trip and the permit obtained by the travel agency.”

The decision bans renting out tourism buses to anyone without prior permit from the ministry of tourism. It also prohibits Egyptian travel agencies from granting licenses to tourism transportation companies.

Furthermore, the decision obliges travel agencies to limit the number of tourists to a maximum of 42 tourists per journey. It also stressed that a reserve driver should accompany the main driver in journeys that last for more than 6 hours.

The decision came three days after the escalation of violence in Aswan governorate in Upper Egypt. The Aswan inter-tribal clashes left 24 fatalities and dozens of injuries. Sinai region has also witnessed a bus bombing in February which claimed the lives of 4 tourists.