From July 1, 2020 to July 1, 2021, 1.2 million citizens of Ukraine visited Egypt, said Vice Minister for Tourism at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt Ghada Shalaby.
“Egypt has been hosting Ukrainians from the first day when we resumed tourism services on July 1, 2020. Ukrainian tourists consider Egypt an attractive vacation spot. We have applied certain security measures to protect tourists and industry workers. Therefore, the numbers began to grow and reached 1.2 million Ukrainians who came to Egypt before last month to spend their holidays,” Shalaby said at a press conference in Kyiv on July 15.
At the same time, she added that the number of COVID-19 infections among Ukrainian tourists during this time was at a minimum level.
Shalaby informed that in July an electronic visa started operating to enter Egypt (www.visa2egypt.gov.eg).
“We also made changes to the rules for entering the country, allowing people who received the vaccine to enter the country without having to present a negative PCR test result, which has a positive impact on more cost-effective travel to the country,” she explained.
The Deputy Minister noted that in Egypt there is a “hot line” for tourists, which will soon also work in the Ukrainian language.
“Very soon we are going to introduce the Ukrainian language. Now it is in English, but we are also going to add the Ukrainian language so that it can respond to various requests of Ukrainian tourists,” she said.
According to Shalaby, Egypt has introduced stamps for hotels to signal their compliance with security measures in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular, a hygiene safety logo, a safe travel logo.
The deputy minister said that in order to enter Egypt, Ukrainians need a visa, which costs $25 a month.
“Egypt recognizes Ukrainian PCR tests and also vaccination certificates. Travelers who were not vaccinated or were unable to get a PCR test before arrival can do a PCR test upon arrival … which costs $30 per person,” she said.
According to the Egyptian Embassy in Ukraine, those who arrived with vaccination certificates from countries that have not been affected by mutated coronavirus strains in the last 14 days have their vaccination certificates against coronavirus checked to confirm approval in the country that issues them. Certificates should not show signs of deletion or addition, should contain a QR code and are accepted after verification of the authority that issued the certificate.
The approved vaccines are those approved by the World Health Organization and the Egyptian Medicines Administration, provided that the time period is 14 days from the receipt of the second dose of vaccines in two doses (Pfizer – AstraZeneca-Moderna-Sinopharma-Sinovac-Sputnik) or 14 days after first dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Passengers, arriving without a vaccination certificate, should provide a negative PCR test 72 hours before the scheduled departure time of the aircraft.
