Visa on arrival, 5-year multiple-entry permit announced in Egypt to boost tourism

Egypt on Monday announced a series of measures aimed at improving access to visas to boost tourism revenues at a time when the country has been struggling economically with an acute foreign currency shortage.

The country's tourism ministry officials said that it will soon allow Iranians travelling with tour groups to obtain visas on arrival in the south of its Sinai peninsula with a view to extending access to other parts of the country.

It also comes as some Middle Eastern countries including Egypt are taking steps to ease regional tensions. Egypt's ally Saudi Arabia and Iran announced this month that they would restore diplomatic relations.

Cairo has mended a rift with Qatar and is re-establishing ties with Turkey, another country to benefit from new visa rules with Turkish nationals given expanded access to visas on arrival, according to a Egyptian Tourism Ministry statement.

Among the other new visa rules announced were a $700, five-year multiple-entry visa, which Tourism Minister Ahmed Issa told Reuters was aimed at investors and property owners who are based outside Egypt.

On visas for Iranians arriving in South Sinai, home to the highly secured resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Issa said: "We will evaluate the experience of their arrival in South Sinai as a first step, and building on that, we'll determine if they will be admitted in other places."

Tourists from China, which Egypt regards as a market with big potential, and Indians resident in Gulf countries will also be granted visas on arrival.

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