Tourist visas for travellers arriving at Luxor or Aswan airports will be reduced from $25 to $15 during June, July and August. Entry fees for archaeological sites and museums, meanwhile, will be halved.
The measures were confirmed in a letter to operator partners from Ahmed Youssef, chair of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Board.
The country began reopening hotels mid-May at quarter capacity, which will increase to 50% in June, the country’s ministry of tourism and antiquities has confirmed.
Hotels that wish to operate must apply for an audit to ensure they meet health and safety guidelines set by the country’s Egyptian Hotel Association. Certificates must be renewed on an annual basis.
New operating requirements include having a clinic and doctor on-site; ensuring a supply of PPE and sterilisation materials; and complying with new inspection criteria.
Check-in must be contactless, while guests must undergo temperature checks, agree for their luggage to be sterilised, and maintain heightened handwashing practices.
Room capacity should not exceed two adults, or two adults and one child in a family room, while lifts must be operated at half capacity. Casinos will also operate at half capacity, and there must be good ventilation and signage throughout the premises.
Hotels must also set aside a "small hotel" or hotel floor in each resort or quarantine of "minor, non-critical and suspected" coronavirus cases.
Buffet service is banned, as are hookahs and shishas. Dining tables will be separated by at least two metres, and guests at each table by at least a metre – up to a maximum of six.
Other operational requirements include regular swimming pool maintenance and disinfection; cleaning deckchairs and sunbeds after each guest’s use; and ensuring at least a two-metre gap between sunbeds.
