A recent decision by the Antiquities Ministry to raise the ticket prices for Egyptian visitors to historical sites in Aswan and Luxor has drawn opposition from tourism workers in the provinces.
Workers said the decision, which the ministry said would go into effect starting June, was “ill-advised” and coming at a bad time.
Ashraf Mokhtar, a member of Aswan’s chamber of tourism, said the ministry’s decree is “impetuous”, adding that the ministry should instead have offered tourists incentives to visit sites, such as with good accommodation and reduced flight tickets.
“The decision was made without consulting company owners, and will force companies to bear the burden for contracts that have already been signed,” said Mokhtar.
Hossam Abboud, the ministry’s director for the Abu Simbel archaeological areas, said tickets for Egyptian visitors are now up to LE10 from LE4.
Egypt has been struggling to recover in the tourism industry, due to the many security issues the country has faced from both the 2011 and 2013 uprisings.
Tourism activists have called for the encouragement of local tourism as an additional asset apart from the foreign tourist inflow.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
