The Ministry of Antiquities has begun offering annual museum tickets for Egyptians and foreigners with a price of EGP 200 for Egyptians, EGP 50 for Egyptian students, $90 for foreigners, and $50 for foreign students.
An official at the ministry said that these tickets aim to increase the ministry’s financial resources in the coming fiscal year, amid a decline that persisted over the past five years due to the decline of tourist inflow.
He added that the ministry lost over 90% of its resources, which prompted it to look for new alternative resources through providing discounted tickets for Egyptians and foreigners.
The peak income of the Ministry of Antiquities was in 2010 with over EGP 1.4bn. But last year, the ministry’s income was less than EGP 100m.
The tourist traffic to Egypt declined during the past year to 5.3 million tourists, marking a decline of 40%, compared to 9.3 million tourists in 2015.
Elhamy El-Zayat, former chairperson of the Egyptian Federation of Chambers of Tourism, said that the offer benefits the ministry and helps it develop the archaeological shrines and museums in light of Egypt’s declining tourism revenues.
He added that the Egyptian tourism sector with all its components is able to recover during the coming period as long as there is stability in the security situation, which is very strong compared to other neighbouring countries.
He pointed out that Egypt is not the only country suffering from terrorism during the current period, but countries around the world face fierce attacks from terrorism.
The official at the ministry predicted revenues to climb by 20% this year, due to improved inflow to Egypt during the first quarter of 2017.
He expressed optimism that the number of tourists will reach over 7 million this year, thanks to the domestic tourism by families, individuals, and university students, which will increase revenues.
The Cabinet had agreed to provide EGP 1.2bn to the Ministry of Antiquities in the next fiscal year to improve the archaeological shrines and museums in different regions of the Republic, especially along the Nile valley, in the governorates of Luxor, Aswan, Minya, Assiut, and Sohag.
According to the official, the ministry will review the entry fee of many museums and archaeological sites under construction, especially in South Sinai and the Red Sea region.
