Egypt not accepting new applications for tourist companies

Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities has announced that it is currently not accepting any more applications for new tourism companies due to the excessive number that already exists.

At the same time, tourist companies have been warned not to cancel reservations as the peak season of Ramadan, Umrah and Hajj approaches.

Egypt has worked hard to reboot tourism in the country, which took a nosedive following the Arab Spring, the coronavirus pandemic,

 and an ongoing crackdown by the government.

In 2013 European governments warned holiday makers to stay away from Egypt’s Red Sea resort as the country dealt with deadly violence, a fall out of the coup which toppled the government.

READ: UN calls for release of human rights activists in Egypt

France, Sweden and Germany advised their citizens not to travel to the country. Russia, the largest source of tourists to Egypt, advised that tour operators should not promote Egyptian holidays.

In 2020 Egypt’s tourism revenues were $4 billion, compared to $13.03 billion in 2019.

In 2015 Britain suspended flights to the Red Sea after a Russian plane crash in Egypt killed all 224 people on board.

A month earlier, Egyptian security forces bombed a convoy of Mexican tourists and eight Mexicans and four Egyptians were killed.

Analysts have said that one of the ways the government is bringing in more tourists is the discovery of various antiquities, including most recently a smiling sphinx and a secret tunnel inside the Great Pyramid of Giza.

READ: UN calls for release of human rights activists in Egypt