Tourism Minister Khaled Ramy has decided not to extend the Russian tourists' visa fee exemption.
In mid-January, the ministry decided to exempt Russian tourists from the US$25 visa fee until the end of April. This decision was based on the intention of promoting Russian tourism after the sharp decline of the Russian Ruble.
Russia started to become a pivotal source of Egypt’s foreign tourism in 2010 and the number of Russian tourists has increased since then, reaching 3 million in 2014. These tourists represent nearly 65 percent of the total number of tourists traveling to Egypt, according to the state information service.