Battered tourism industry in Egypt faces uncertainty in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which leads the authorities to seek reopening plans.
The Egyptian Cabinet said in late April that it would review the possibility to allow domestic tourism based on precautionary measures and studies amid the COVID-19 crisis.
As the country began to ease the confinement measures, it is allowing hotels to reopen for domestic tourists on condition that they operate at no more than 25 percent capacity until the end of May and implement a range of other health measures to guard against the new coronavirus, Antiquities and Tourism Minister Khaled al-Anany said on Sunday.
For hotels to resume operations they must have a clinic with a resident doctor, regularly screen temperatures and install disinfection equipment, the cabinet said in a statement.
Guests must be registered online and workers have to undergo rapid coronavirus tests when entering resorts, while a hotel floor or small building must be assigned as a quarantine area for positive or suspected coronavirus cases.
Egyptian security forces start to cordon off roads at Tahrir Square ahead of curfew hours as prevention measures due to the coronavirus outbreak in Cairo, Egypt, March 29, 2020. /AP
Tharwat Agamy, chairman of Luxor's Tourism Companies Chamber, hailed the government's decision to reopen hotels deeming: "It will rescue the tourism sector, that has generated record-high revenues of 13 billion U.S. dollars in 2019, from deterioration."
He added the decision was based on expectations for not resuming international flights or world tourism shortly because no medicine has been approved for treating the coronavirus yet.
"It takes time to shake the fear from the hearts of travel lovers," said Agamy who expected foreign tourists to start trickling back into Egypt from September.
From June 1, hotels will be allowed to work with a maximum 50 percent capacity, the cabinet said.
The virus has shut down Egypt's tourism sector, which accounts for 12-15 percent of its GDP (gross domestic product), leading to losses estimated at one billion U.S. dollars per month.
The country has so far recorded 7,588 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 469 deaths. The government has suspended international passenger flights and closed hotels, restaurants and cafes, as well as imposed a night curfew since March in a bid to contain the coronavirus epidemic.
(With input from agencies)
(Cover: Empty Giza Pyramids and Sphinx complex on lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak in Egypt, March 20, 2020. /AP)