Luxor4u

CAIRO: The decision of the Antiquities Ministry to raise entrance fees paid by Arab tourists and locals to visit Egypt’s archaeological sites has drawn mixed reviews.

“The timing of the decision is not appropriate as the country witnesses its record-low level in decades. The decision contradicts the promotion campaigns launched by the Tourism Ministry to revive the tourism sector,” a chairman of a leading travel agency told The Cairo Post Wednesday on condition of anonymity.

He explained that the hike in entrance fees will lead to a hike in the travel packages offered by travel agencies.

In March, the ministry said in a statement it will raise archaeological sites’ admission only for Arab tourists and local Egyptians adding that the hike, which ranges from 100 to 500 percent, will be in effect starting from June 1.

In August 2014, Antiquities Minister Mamdouh al-Damaty said “the ministry has been encountering financial problems with its total debt reaching 2.8 billion EGP due to the sharp decrease in its revenues (mainly from entrance fees) in the wake of the January 25 Revolution.”

Despite ongoing campaigns to assure foreigners that the country is a safe destination, the tourism sector has been in constant decline since the overthrow of former President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.

According to Damaty, the ministry’s revenues during the 2013/2014 fiscal year reached only 125 million EGP ($17.8 million) compared to 3 billion EGP in the 2009/2010 fiscal year.

“The current yearly income is only enough to pay the salaries of the ministry’s employees for just two months.” He added.

According to the new price structure published in Youm7, admission to the Egyptian Museum will be for 10 EGP up from 4 EGP per person, 30 EGP for Luxor Museum up from 10 EGP, 10 EGP for Giza Pyramids up from 2 EGP.

Sites in Aswan including the Temple of Philae and the High Dam will see a 500 percent hike from 8 EGP to 40 EGP per person.

In November 2010, proceeds from museum and archaeological tickets sales reached 15 million EGP compared to 4.5 million EGP in November 2012, Damaty said.

Director General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Amin defended the hike saying that the entrance fees have not increased since 2006 and that the value of the Egyptian Pound has increased in these nine years.

“The money generated through the difference in prices of admission fees will be directed to complete the ministry’s suspended development projects, renovation work and other services needed to maintain the sites,” Amin told The Cairo Post.

Egypt depends on tourism for around 20 percent of its hard currency. The sector’s total investments are valued at 68 billion EGP (U.S. $9.8 billion,) according to the Ministry of Tourism.

In 2010, which was the peak of Egyptian tourism during the past two decades, 14.7 million tourists visited the country and spent 98.5 billion EGP in revenue, according to the 2011 report of the National Accounts Division of the Ministry of Tourism.


http://www.thecairopost.com/news/151669 ... by-100-300

So, not content with screwing the tourists who typically pay 10 x more than the locals, they now have to screw the locals because the tourists cant be screwed anymore because they are not there because they were being screwed.

Funny how things work out

Don't see why not if they want to destroy the duel economy system.

It looks to me like they are trying to make more money off of Arabs and the Egyptians be damned. 30LE for Luxor Museum? This is ridiculous. And I hope the 40LE for Philae includes the boat. The problem is the Arabs can read the signs with the Egyptian prices on them and will balk if they have to pay foreigner prices so they are forced to charge the same for Arabs and Egyptians.

They should at least make one day a month or something free for Egyptians so those who can't afford it can visit the sites.

Glyphdoctor wrote:They should at least make one day a month or something free for Egyptians so those who can't afford it can visit the sites.

... and the rest of us can avoid the (small) crowds. Places like the Louvre and the Vatican have a free day once a month. I would rather pay and go on a different day!

So the locals can't afford 30LE to visit the museum, yet they can afford mobile phones and satellite tv? pffff! At least they don't have to pay 100LE like us rich decadant westerners.

A satellite dish can be bought for about 100LE. Hardly a luxury anymore. Maybe 20 years ago but not now. I'm not sure that regular aerial antennas are even available anymore. As for mobile phones, I don't think they are a luxury anymore either as there are new models for a little over 100LE. People can get pay-as-you-go plans and then the only fee you MUST pay is the 50 piasters tax each month. And there are no fees to receive calls or texts so a poor person doesn't need to spend much at all on it if they just use it to receive calls from others.

And of course it would be welcomed if the locals had any interest visiting them in the first place. Over the years I have met none that have shown any interest in going into something they can walk past any day of the year. Most take very little interest in maintaining their own homes, so I doubt that they would feel the need to view something in a worst state of repair. Plus, with so many of the local population illiterate, the visit would be quite meaningless to most. In my opinion of course.

Over the last 3 years I have seen very large numbers of Egyptians visiting the temples, both East and West Bank, including groups of local school children. Egyptians don't need to be literate to grasp the amazing architectural achievements of their ancestors, who were far in advance, both culturally and scientifically, of our own.

Dusak wrote:Plus, with so many of the local population illiterate, the visit would be quite meaningless to most. In my opinion of course.

As if YOU can read the hieroglyphs yourself...Just saying, if you are going to start talking about illiteracy.

No, I can not read them, nor would I want too. I find them pretty to look at but totally useless in the general sense, to me personally. But if I did, with my level of intelligence I could soon learn the basics if I stuck to it. As I could run rings around you in certain subject matter that I'm knowledgeable in.

Illiterate people in general, especially those from thirty upwards, have little or no interest in anything that is depicted in a written or a pictorial medium, the chance to learn has passed them. Although it is said that you are never to old to learn, you need a solid reason to start the learning process at that age and upwards. Although life is difficult for them, they can still earn a living and put food on the table.

Hows your Mandarin coming along?

There has been an influx of school visits over the last three years by order of the education ministry. My friends nieces have been to both Karnak and Luxor temples, but they are not free, the parents have to pay. According to what they tell my friend, they look forwards to getting on a coach and escaping the classroom for the day, not seeing what is inside the walls. You can lead a horse to water...

As for you and your latest cuckold partner A-four, I'm pleased to see that I have brought the two of you together, albeit only a temporally one going off past sudden jumps of popularity and mutual usefulness.

Dusak wrote:
As for you and your latest cuckold partner A-four, I'm pleased to see that I have brought the two of you together, albeit only a temporally one going off past sudden jumps of popularity and mutual usefulness.

.

I leave it to others to study, then judge this, and other recent statements by you, if they so wish.

Dusak wrote:No, I can not read them, nor would I want too. I find them pretty to look at but totally useless in the general sense, to me personally.

I once had a classmate who was dyslexic. She was one of those people who they admitted to the masters program because they paid their own way. She was the worst classmate I ever had in a hieroglyphs class. They gave her the terminal masters degree and sent her on her way. I ran into her a year later as she was back in town for a friend's graduation. She was paying back her debts for her masters by doing data entry in a nuclear waste facility in the middle of nowhere.

Glyphdoctor wrote:

Dusak wrote:No, I can not read them, nor would I want too. I find them pretty to look at but totally useless in the general sense, to me personally.

I once had a classmate who was dyslexic. She was one of those people who they admitted to the masters program because they paid their own way. She was the worst classmate I ever had in a hieroglyphs class. They gave her the terminal masters degree and sent her on her way. I ran into her a year later as she was back in town for a friend's graduation. She was paying back her debts for her masters by doing data entry in a nuclear waste facility in the middle of nowhere.

... and ...?

A-Four wrote:

Dusak wrote:
As for you and your latest cuckold partner A-four, I'm pleased to see that I have brought the two of you together, albeit only a temporally one going off past sudden jumps of popularity and mutual usefulness.

.

I leave it to others to study, then judge this, and other recent statements by you, if they so wish.

Judge others by all means, but only after you have judged yourself.

Is that a tail or is the foot you are cramming down your throat coming out the other end?

In general no matter what it is, you pay for what you enjoy the most. I just have a bog standard mobile, because all I do is send txt's and make calls, If if I go to historic sites I have no choice to pay what they ask, even though many times you see, Egyptian wives queuing at other gates for the 3 or 4 LE off the entrance fee. My TV I love so therefore that has preference when it comes to spending, we both watch a lot of factual TV and use OSN Showtime Platinum Package, with the OSN Sat. Box that records, repeats and as on demand features.

Glyphdoctor wrote:Is that a tail or is the foot you are cramming down your throat coming out the other end?

No, its my man meat, have to tuck it away to save it continually banging my knees.