As Egypt continues to step up its COVID-19 recovery plan, it has stepped up efforts in the tourism sector.
This campaign is geared at guaranteeing the health and safety of an increasing influx of tourists that want to explore the North African country.
According to a statement by the tourism minister on Monday, part of these safety protocols is prioritizing the vaccination of tourism workers and full inoculation of two resort areas this month,
“We will prioritize workers in the tourism industry, which is an essential sector for Egypt’s economy,” Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Enani told AFP.
“In May, I will announce, along with the minister of health, the complete vaccination of Egyptian workers in hotels, resorts, businesses and restaurants in South Sinai and the Red Sea,” he said on the sidelines of a travel industry conference in Dubai.
About 65 percent of tourists in Egypt head to those coastal destinations, he said.
Enani said other tourist spots will follow, such as Luxor, Aswan and the capital Cairo, home of the Giza pyramids and major museums.
The tourism industry in Egypt has been on an upward curve since the pandemic has slowed in a number of cases. In April, Egypt welcomed 500,000 tourists, more than double the number in January and up from just 200,000 tourists a month in the second half of last year.
“The important thing is there is an upward curve,” Enani said.
“We hope the numbers will increase again in the near future with the opening of some countries and the easing of restrictions, including in Arab countries, Europe and Russia,” he said.
“The return of tourism in Egypt does not only depend on us, but remains linked to other countries.”
Egypt reopened to foreign tourists in July last year after having closed its borders in March. Visitors only need to produce a negative PCR test.
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