Egypt allows visitors from 78 countries to obtain tourist visa upon arrival

Ahram Online , Thursday 31 Mar 2022

Egypt will allow visitors from 78 countries around the world to obtain emergency tourist visas upon arrival at Egyptian ports or electronically starting 1 April.

Tourism
Tourists visit the Karnak Temple Complex in Egypt s southern city of Luxor. AFP

This is in addition to offering other special facilitations for a number of additional nationalities in the case of direct arrival to the cities of Sharm El-Sheikh and Taba, provided they have a return ticket, a reservation for their accommodation, a credit card, or enough to cover their stay in Egypt.

Tourist can receive the electronic visa here.

The number of nationalities who are able to receive tourist visas upon arrival in Egypt has now reached more than 180 nationalities, provided that they have a valid and used visa on their passports for the United Kingdom, the US, Japan, New Zealand, or Schengen countries.

The decision comes within the framework of the Egyptian government’s continued efforts to encourage tourists from many different countries to visit Egypt, which relies on tourism revenues as a vital source of foreign currency.

Tourism used to account for up to 15 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) before the pandemic.

Egypt recorded a peak of 13.1 million tourists in 2019, generating $13.03 billion. However, the sector was dealt a huge blow by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the number fell to 3.5 million tourists in 2020. 

The sector showed signs of recovery in 2021, however, with 3.5 million tourists visiting Egypt in the first six months of that year, according to official statements.

Egypt hopes it will achieve a full recovery this year.

Officials have expressed concerns regarding a possible drop in tourism flow amid the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which are the main exporters of tourists to Egypt.

In February, the Egyptian government vowed to work on diversifying tourism sources by working to attract more tourists from other countries amid the crisis.

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