The chairman of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority (TPA), Hesham El-Demeiry, said that Egypt is considering a decision that will grant entry visas for foreigners who are residents of Arab countries especially those from the gulf region.
Such a step will aim at attracting more foreign and Arab tourists, El-Demeiry told Mubasher on the sidelines of the Arab Travel Market event, which is held in Dubai.
The decision is currently being studied, and it is expected to be official within the next couple of weeks, he added.
TPA’s chairman expects this decision to increase tourism especially from the gulf countries, as well as facilitating the process of travelling to Egypt by eradicating barriers and reduce the required time to obtain an entry visa.
The chairman also pointed to the importance of Arab markets to the Egyptian tourism sector, he noted that Arab tourism accounted for around 36.3% of total visitors to Egypt in 2016.