Last Night’s Talk Shows on the QR-code e-visa system

Next month’s rollout of the QR-code e-visa system was in the limelight last night, with the specifics of obtaining the visa outlined by Head of the Federation of Tourism Chambers Hossam El Shaer in a phone interview with El Sora’s Lamees El Hadidi (watch, runtime: 4:20). Visitors can obtain the visa online or at an airport by paying via credit card through scanning a QR code in a bid to reduce queues and congestion at local airports.

The visa fee currently stands at USD 36, but El Shaer hopes it will be reverted to its previous rate of USD 15, since competing tourism hotspots like Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, and Dubai grant tourist visas without charge, giving them an edge. He also added that the new visa system will first launch at Cairo International Airport before gradually being rolled out across other airports.

REMEMBER- Airport staff are currently being trained to run the system, which is expected to strip out one of the first points of friction for visitors as Egypt chases its target of 30 mn tourists a year by 2030.