“The decision was taken by Egypt’s Passports, Immigration and Nationality Administration (PINA) and will be enforced starting from Jan. 15 until April 30,” PINA’s Director General Hussein al-Reedy declared.
The decision, which aims to support Egypt’s inbound tourism, “comes following a notable decrease of over 50 percent in number of flights coming to Egypt from Russia,” as the head of the Egyptian Federation of Chambers of Tourism in Hurghada Magdy Saleh advised
“More than 2.4 million Russian tourists visited Egypt in 2013 and spent 23.7 million tourist nights, taking the lead in the list of nationalities visiting Egypt,” Zaazou said in a statement. He added that the number decreased in 2014.
Egypt has become a popular and affordable travel destination for tourists from Russia and other post-Soviet states. Over 50 percent of tourists visiting the Red Sea resorts of Sharm al-Sheikh and Hurghada are Russians, according to Saleh.
Russian tourism to Egypt accounts for roughly 25 percent of annual tourist flow, according to Ministry of Tourism statistics.