Egyptian government announces resumption of domestic tourism, coastal cities 'healthier"

Egyptian government announces resumption of domestic tourism, coastal cities 'healthier"
Source: The Paper

Reporter: Wang Yu comprehensive report

According to Arab News (Arab News), the Egyptian government recently announced the resumption of domestic tourism to alleviate the economic losses caused during the epidemic. Prior to this, affected by the epidemic, Egypt's domestic tourism has been suspended for more than two months.

After coordinating with the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Relics and the Ministry of Health, the Egyptian government approved a series of measures in accordance with the instructions of the World Health Organization, including allowing hotels to restore 25% of their operating capacity before June 1 and 50% after June. Wait.

Khaled El-Anany, Egypt's minister of tourism and antiquities, said coastal cities such as Hurghada (Hurghada) and Sharm el Sheikh (Sharm el Sheikh) were "healthier" than crowded big cities ". Hotels can be part of the new system the government is about to adopt, as long as they can prove "they followed the rules and regulations between May 15 and 31.

Khalid Anani, minister of tourism and antiquities, said coastal cities were "healthier" than crowded big cities ". Egypt Tourism Bureau official website map

It is understood that Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh are both famous tourist cities in Egypt, bordering the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea, attracting a large number of European and Israeli tourists every year. Among them, the Sharm el-Sheikh region's coral reefs are extremely famous and popular with deep-sea snorkeling enthusiasts. And Hurghada is also an emerging diving destination. At the same time, tourism also gave birth to the local hotel industry. Sharm el-Sheikh has 170 hotels and Hurghada has 260 hotels, many of which are luxury resorts.
Affected by the outbreak, the average occupancy rate of the hotel market in Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada decreased by 24% in the first quarter of 2020.

Coastal resort hotel in Sharm el-Sheikh area. Data Map

The Prime Minister of Egypt, Mustafa Madbouli (Mustafa Madbouly), stressed the importance of the tourism and hospitality sector in providing employment opportunities and as an important source of revenue for the country. He said the country is keen to mitigate the negative impact of the new coronavirus on the tourism industry and its employees. At the same time, he also stressed that all virus prevention measures discussed during the cabinet meeting must also be implemented "completely and accurately.

Ahmed Edris (Ahmed Edris), a member of the Egyptian Tourism and Aviation Committee, expressed support for the government's decision. He pointed out that tourism is Egypt's main source of income, directly or indirectly employing more than 1300 million Egyptian workers. He called on hotel and tourism business owners to draft a safe tourism operation plan and implement preventive hygiene measures in hotels and restaurants to maintain the safety of all employees.

However, the decision to restart the domestic brigade was not supported by everyone. Critics have said that the various tourism industries need to delay until the end of the epidemic, and urged the government not to risk the health of the Egyptian people.

Councillor Soraya Sheikh (Thoraya El-Sheikh said that the opening of domestic travel should be delayed by at least a month in view of the increasing number of confirmed cases.

"The Egyptian people like family gatherings, which increases the risk of infection," Sheikh said.

Tourism is Egypt's main source of income, directly or indirectly employing more than 1300 million Egyptian workers. YOUR EGYPT TOURS

As one of Egypt's main sources of foreign exchange earnings, tourism is vital to the national economy. At the peak of Egypt's tourism industry in 2010, 14.7 million foreign tourists visited Egypt, earning nearly US $12.5 billion, contributing more than 11 per cent of the country's GDP and 14.4 per cent of its foreign currency revenue. Severe political and social unrest followed in 2011, when tourist numbers plummeted by more than 37 percent. Until the last two or three years, the tourism industry has gradually recovered. In 2019, the number of foreign tourists visiting Egypt rose to 13.6 million, and tourism revenue reached a record high of US $12.6 billion billion.

According to the Egyptian Independent, Mohamed Farouk (Mohamed Farouk), chairman of the e-tourism committee of the Egyptian Association of Travel Agents, said that the use of a "safe path" to restart domestic tourism is an important step to restore tourism during the epidemic. And the recovery of international tourism is at least two years away, Farooq added.

He pointed out that some countries have begun to discuss the issue of restoring tourism, starting with the so-called "safe path", that is, the development of health standards and guidelines for receiving tourists. These standards will first be tested in the domestic tourism industry and then applied to regional and international tourism.

Farouk also said that the Egyptian government should communicate with other Arab countries such as Jordan and Lebanon to extend the "safe route" guide to flights, resorts and hotels.

Tharwat Agamy, chairman of the Luxor Tourism Company Chamber of Commerce, hailed the government's decision, expecting foreign tourists to be able to return to Egypt from September.

"Travel enthusiasts need time to get rid of their fears," says Agami.

Since the outbreak in Cairo on March 29, the Egyptian government has suspended international passenger flights, closed hotels, restaurants and cafes, and imposed a nationwide curfew to contain the coronavirus epidemic. Losses due to tourism closures are estimated to be as high as $1 billion a month. So far, Egypt has 10093 confirmed cases and 544 deaths.