Egypt reduces fuel price for aviation to boost tourism ailing from coronavirus

Ahram Online , Thursday 21 Jan 2021

The discounts will stimulate travel and help the tourism sector overcome coronavirus challenges

airplane

Egypt is further decreasing the price of fuel for the aviation sector starting Thursday as part of efforts to boost travel and tourism as the pandemic continues to take its heavy toll on the vital sectors.

The petroleum ministry said on Thursday fuel will be sold to the aviation sector for 15 cents per gallon.

The discounted price is effective until the end of the year.

The discounts were first introduced during a meeting held earlier this month between petroleum minister Tarek El-Molla, tourism and antiquities minister Khaled El-Anany and civil aviation minister Mohamed Manar Enaba to mull over means to support the tourism sector and boost aviation.

El-Molla said the discounts will back tourism, stimulate travel, and contribute to overcoming challenges imposed by the pandemic on the sectors.

The discounts will contribute to increasing tourist influx to the country through encouraging global airlines to increase their trips to Egypt, El-Anany said.

Egypt has been exerting efforts to save the tourism sector from the repercussions of the coronavirus through luring travellers to its hotspot destinations as the majority of tourism-receiving countries continue to place strict pandemic measures due to a surge in cases.

Egypt hopes recent archaeological discoveries and a postponed opening of the mega Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), located near the Giza Pyramids, to this year will help it recover its key source of foreign currency.

The country's tourism revenues fell by approximately 70 percent to $4 billion due to the pandemic in 2020, with the number of tourists falling down to 3.5 million from 13.1 million in 2019, El-Anany told Reuters earlier this month.

 

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