News report | | 24/03/2022 | ±2 minutes reading time

Egypt is a very popular holiday destination for both Russians and Ukrainians. But due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, the number of tourists from both countries has decreased dramatically.

Majority of tourists from Russia and Ukraine

Before Covid-19, Russia and Ukraine together accounted for about a third of the total number of tourists in Egypt. In 2019, more than 1.6 million Ukrainian tourists visited Egypt. The country also welcomes between 300,000 and 500,000 tourists from Russia every month. Egypt tries to make it as easy as possible for travellers from these countries to travel there. The visa rules for Russians and Ukrainians are very favourable. Travellers from both countries can apply for an e-visa before departure or for a visa on arrival at the airport in Egypt. A visit to the embassy is therefore not necessary. Russians travelling in groups of five or more do not even need a visa.

Since the war started in Ukraine, holiday bookings from these countries have virtually stopped. Many people in Ukraine have been displaced by the Russian invasion. In addition, both Ukrainians and Russians are afraid they will not be able to return home in case they go abroad. There are currently thousands of stranded Russians and Ukrainians in Egypt. They cannot book a flight home because most airlines are not operating in Russia or Ukraine. Recently, the Egyptian government announced that fines for overstaying visas will temporarily not apply to Russian and Ukrainian tourists in Egypt. Additionally, the government is in talks with Egypt Air among others to examine the possibility of repatriating travellers as soon as possible.

Egyptian economy still recovering

The sharp decline in tourists from Russia and Ukraine is not the only setback the Egyptian economy has faced in recent years. In 2015, a passenger flight crashed over the Sinai causing Russia to temporarily halt all flights to Egypt. The Covid-19 pandemic has also hit Egypt hard. The country is largely dependent on tourism from abroad. Not only has Covid-19 caused the national treasury to lose money, but also thousands of jobs. This was also the main reason why Egypt was one of the first countries to reopen its borders. In the past year, the tourism sector in Egypt has recovered significantly. Russia decided to allow flights to Egypt again in 2021 and the Egyptian government has invested millions in projects to attract tourists. Several museums have been renovated and the government is organising large-scale events, such as parades and international sports events.

The government’s efforts are clearly paying off. In 2021, the income from tourism was 13 billion dollars. By comparison, 2020 ended on 4 billion dollars. Although it is not yet at the pre-Covid-19 level, the government is satisfied with the progress made.

Other countries must step in

Egypt is looking to other countries to make up for the lack of tourism from Russia and Ukraine. The country is also popular with travellers from the UK and Germany. The same rules as Russians and Ukrainians are applied to British and German travellers. Recently, the British government withdrew its negative travel advice for South Sinai and Faiyum and the German government no longers considers Egypt high-risk. The Egyptian government wants to strengthen ties with these two countries to increase the number of tourists to Egypt in the long run.

Please note: this news article about the visa for Egypt is more than one year old. It might contain outdated information and advice, and no rights can therefore be derived from this article. Are you going on a trip soon and do you wish to do know what rules currently apply? Read all about the up-to-date information about the visa for Egypt.

e-Visa.co.uk is a commercial and professional visa agency, and supports travellers in obtaining, among others, the Egypt visa. e-Visa.co.uk is an official partner of the International Air Transport Association, IATA, with membership number 57231226, acts as an intermediary, is no law firm, nor does it employ lawyers, does not provide legal advice, and is in no way part of any government. You can also apply for a visa directly with the immigration service (25 USD per visa, via visa2egypt.gov.eg). However, not with our level of support. If you submit your application via e-Visa.co.uk, our support centre is available to you 24/7. In addition, we manually check your application and all the documents you provide before submitting it to the immigration authorities on your behalf. If we suspect any errors or omissions while doing so, we will personally contact you to ensure that your application can still be processed quickly and correctly. To use our services, you pay us 25 USD in consular fees, which we pay to the immigration service on your behalf, as well as £35.21 in service fees as compensation for our services, including VAT. Our services have saved many travellers from major problems during their trip. Should an application be rejected despite our support and verification, we will refund the full purchase price (unless an application for a previous Egypt visa was rejected for the same traveller). Read more about our services here.