Egypt will open its doors to international tourism from July 1.
Updated on the day: 07/02/2020. As of June 21 Egypt reported 1,475 new cases of coronavirus , more than 55,000 people have been infected since the pandemic began and 79 deaths have been certified in recent days. That is why the reopening has had to wait Until July 1st
This was announced by the Embassy of Egypt in a statement in which it reported on the resumption of regular international flights of the Egypt Air company from July 1, 2020, including direct flights to Madrid and Barcelona.
In this way, tourists can now visit the country, but only in hotels and establishments with the hygienic safety certificate approved by the government and the WTTC. This organization guarantees those countries the WTTC Safe Travel seal, as it is possible to travel safely. Egypt has received it this week.
This will affect the regions of the Red Sea, Matrou and the southern Sinai Peninsula . "These three governorates have had excellent epidemiological results, both in public and private hospitals," they point out from the Egyptian Embassy in Madrid.
How to recognize safe hotels? The Twitter of the Egyptian Tourist Office publishes almost daily the hotels by cities that have said certificate, so this is the safest way to book a hotel that complies with the regulations. In addition, all hotels that have the certificate will have the logo (which can be seen in the following video).
"The hotels will operate when they comply with the regulations established by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Ministry of Health and Population in accordance with the guidelines of the World Health Organization," they point out from the Tourism Office.
Hygiene standards for hotels are very similar to those in Spain , in addition to offering protective equipment such as masks,** they are disinfected every hour and have doctors and a quarantine area in case a case arises**. They also provide guests with sanitizing gel and the capacity will only be 50% in the month of July.
Check-in will be done online , the temperature of travelers will be taken before entering the hotels and their luggage will also be sterilized upon arrival. In addition, events are prohibited in all hotels.
And what about the rest of the establishments? For the ** restaurants ** there are also new restrictions, for example the tables will have to be separated by two meters, events or parties cannot be organized, the spaces for children are closed and the consumption of shisha is prohibited.
FIRST MEASURES BEFORE TRAVELING
As explained by the Egyptian Embassy in Madrid, travelers will have to fill out a form before boarding where it specifies that in the previous 14 days you have not had symptoms of Covid-19 , who has not been in contact with anyone who had the virus and who has health coverage in the event that they have Covid-19.
PCR will only be required from people who come from the countries most affected by Covid-19 , according to the Organization Health World.
During the flight, masks are required to be worn, meals are prohibited, and aircraft are required to be disinfected after each flight.
Tourism represents 10% of the country's economy. , which is why the first areas to open their doors have been the coastal ones. From July, and from June for local tourism, you can visit the Red Sea and Mediterranean towns such as Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab and Hurghada.
In addition, the Egyptian Council of Ministers has approved a decree "for exemption of visa costs (and not processing) for tourists traveling on direct flights to the governorates of South Sinai, Red Sea and Marsa Matrouh, Luxor and Aswan until October 31, 2020. The exemption is applicable both for visas issued at the points of entry and for visas issued by Egyptian diplomatic missions abroad," they report from the Egyptian Embassy in Spain.
Since June, the Egyptian government has also reduced the price of tickets to museums and archaeological monuments. There will also be a 20% discount for sightseeing for those traveling with EgyptAir or Air Cairo.
In this sense, for now you can visit the Pyramids of Giza , which have a recently opened airport, the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square in Cairo , the complex of karnak temple Y Abu Simbel . These museums are only operational at 50% of their capacity.
The Egyptian Museum of Tahrir is allowed to enter 200 people per hour and in the rest only 100 people per hour . Inside the pyramids, only 10 to 15 people can enter and excursions from tourist agencies cannot exceed 25 people per group.
2020 was undoubtedly going to be the year of the country with the opening of the Great Egyptian Museum, which for now we only know will open in 2021, but without an exact date.