Gov’t agrees to defer tourism sector’s debts

CAIRO – 22 November 2017: The government has agreed on the deferral of debts owed by the tourism sector in the governorates of South Sinai, Luxor and Aswan, Tourism Minister Yehia Rashed said Wednesday.

However the deferral excludes the social insurances. The debts will be reviewed in December 2017 and June 2018, Rashed added.

He said that the government will give tourism projects, which have not yet been implemented, a grace period of three years.

This comes as part of greater efforts to revive Egypt’s tourism industry battered by years of unrest.

Tourism has been picking up recently; especially that Egypt has now become a cheaper destination for many tourists around the world after floating the local currency.

Tourism revenues jumped 211.8 per cent year-on-year to $5.3 billion in the first nine months of 2017, compared to $1.7 billion the year before.

Travel firm Thomas Cook said that bookings for Turkey and Egypt in summer 2018 are very strong.