Egypt tightens visa procedures for individual tourists

Egypt decided Tuesday that foreigners wishing to enter the country need to obtain a visa before departure, and will not be issued at the airport upon arrival, state-run Ahram online website reported Tuesday.

Egypt's ministry of foreign affairs said individual tourists must obtain tourism visas from Egypt's embassies prior to their arrival in the country, according to the website.

Ahram online reported that the only exception will be organized tourist groups.

The decision will go into effect starting from May 15, 2015.

Many nationalities, including Europeans and U.S. nationals, were issued an Egyptian visa upon arrival at the airport.

This same decision was taken in September 2011. However, it was lifted three days later following public outcry that such a move will negatively impact the already fragile tourism industry.

The North African country is struggling to revive its ailing tourism industry, which was once a key source of income but has notably deteriorated in the past four years after the 2011 political turmoil which toppled former President Hosni Mubarak.

Anti-government terrorism attacks by Islamist militants led many countries to issue warnings to their residents from traveling to Egypt.

Around 15 million tourists visited Egypt one year preceding the 2011 revolution, bringing in some 12.5 U.S. billion dollars in revenue.

Tourism revenues last year stood at 7.5 billion dollars compared to 5.9 billion the previous year, a 27 percent increase. Endit