Egyptian Officials Make Local Inspection Tours to Reassure Tourists

A man wearing a face mask is seen in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza after reopening for tourist visits, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Cairo, Egypt (Reuters)
A man wearing a face mask is seen in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza after reopening for tourist visits, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Cairo, Egypt (Reuters)
TT
20

Egyptian Officials Make Local Inspection Tours to Reassure Tourists

A man wearing a face mask is seen in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza after reopening for tourist visits, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Cairo, Egypt (Reuters)
A man wearing a face mask is seen in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza after reopening for tourist visits, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Cairo, Egypt (Reuters)

Egyptian ministers toured various resorts and airports in the country that began receiving visitors earlier this month while maintaining health measures to confront the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government aims to reassure tourists arriving to Egypt over the health situation and the measures taken to contain the pandemic.

Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled Anani and Minister of Civil Aviation Mohamed Manar met with investors in Taba and Nuweiba to discuss proposals to overcome obstacles facing tourism investors in both cities.

Anani stressed that the government spared no effort to promote the tourism sector, considering it a pillar of the national income. He indicated that flights will be resumed in Taba Airport, provided that investors contribute to these flights until tourism returns to its normal levels.

The minister visited Taba and Sharm el-Sheikh airports and inspected the departure and arrival halls, the thermal camera system, and measures for maintaining social distance at the airport.

Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport received more than 3,000 tourists aboard 16 flights from Ukraine and Belarus, since the beginning of July.

Taba Airport is preparing to receive tourists with the first flight arriving from Poland on July 29.

Anani also inspected a number of hotels in Sharm El-Sheikh, Dahab and Nuweiba to ensure that health measures are being followed, as instructed by the Ministry.

The Ministry issued an official statement indicating that the occupancy rate of Dahab reached about 45 percent, most of which are Egyptian visitors. The city has 28 hotels with an occupational capacity of 2,326 hotel rooms, as well as 110 tourist bazaars.

Whereas Nuweiba has 14 hotels, with a capacity of 1,643 rooms, and seven bazaars.

The Minister also reviewed health precautionary measures followed by the hotel upon the guest’s arrival.

He also monitored the procedures on the reception desk and foyer area, as well as all parts of the hotel including the restaurant, kitchen area, swimming pools, and the beach area.



Egypt Govt Pledges Wage Hikes, Relief for Citizens

 A woman prepares traditional Egyptian butter cookies known as "Kahk", to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan in Cairo, Egypt, March 23, 2025. (Reuters)
A woman prepares traditional Egyptian butter cookies known as "Kahk", to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan in Cairo, Egypt, March 23, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
20

Egypt Govt Pledges Wage Hikes, Relief for Citizens

 A woman prepares traditional Egyptian butter cookies known as "Kahk", to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan in Cairo, Egypt, March 23, 2025. (Reuters)
A woman prepares traditional Egyptian butter cookies known as "Kahk", to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan in Cairo, Egypt, March 23, 2025. (Reuters)

The Egyptian government has pledged to improve wages and ease the financial burden on citizens by raising the minimum wage to 7,000 Egyptian pounds (1 USD = 50.45 EGP in banks) starting from the new fiscal year in July 2025.

In its proposed budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the government allocated an 18.1% increase in wage provisions, totaling 671 billion pounds to fund the new salary increases.

This includes a 10% increase in the periodic allowance for civil service law employees and a 15% increase for non-civil service employees, with a minimum increase of 150 pounds per month, according to Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk's statement on Monday.

The government measures also include raising the “cost of living allowance” from 600 to 1,000 pounds and increasing the additional incentive by 300 pounds across all job grades.

This will result in a minimum monthly salary increase of 1,100 pounds for the lowest job grade, boosting overall wages.

While welcoming the increase in the minimum wage, Samira Al-Jazzar, a member of the parliamentary plan and budget committee, called on the government to take further steps to ensure citizens benefit from the wage hikes.

She stressed the need to regulate markets and implement strict measures against price manipulators.

Al-Jazzar expressed concerns about potential price hikes, which could lead to a rise in inflation again.

She told Asharq Al-Awsat that the government should have pursued multiple strategies to address this issue.

The lawmaker also emphasized the importance of expanding production, which she believes would gradually reduce prices.

Economic expert Karim Al-Omda told Asharq Al-Awsat that the new wage increases are a preemptive move by the government to mitigate public anger over expected rises in fuel and service prices.

The government plans to raise fuel prices three times by the end of this year as part of a fuel subsidy reduction strategy under the economic reform program agreed with the International Monetary Fund, which secured a $12 billion loan, according to statements from Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.

Al-Omda urged the government to accelerate improvements in the education and healthcare sectors to genuinely enhance citizens' lives.

He highlighted the urgency of speeding up the implementation of the "comprehensive health insurance" system and making substantial reforms to the education system.

The Ministry of Finance has pledged to allocate the necessary funds to hire over 75,000 teachers, 30,000 doctors, and 10,000 other personnel in various government sectors in the upcoming fiscal year.