Egypt introduces visas for individual tourists

According to the Polish Press Agency, people planning to travel to Egypt will have to obtain a visa. The change applies to individual trips, those organized for the time being remain unchanged. All the formalities in this matter will be able to deal with the embassies of Egypt in their countries. Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty said the decision will come into force on 15 May this year.

-- Advertisement --

So far, going to Egypt has not posed too many formal problems, and the biggest worry for divers was the baggage weight limits of individual airlines. An Egyptian visa could be easily purchased upon arrival at the international airport in Cairo. Now, individual trips will have to be planned in advance and a visa allowing entry into the land of the pharaohs will have to be applied for well in advance. The option of purchasing a visa on site will be retained for organised groups.

Reuters news agency cites security reasons as the reason. It is reportedly to give more time to Egyptian services to check on emerging foreign tourists. The whole situation is linked to the anti-government Islamist rebellion that is taking place over Sinai.

There is no denying that the additional paperwork, bureaucracy, waiting period and all the inconveniences that come with obtaining a visa can be a painful blow to Egyptian tourism. The Egyptian authorities assure that they are paying a lot of attention to the development of this sector of the economy, especially after the events that took place in 2011, but security concerns are a priority.

Source: Polish Press Agency