Zazou: Cutting Travel Tax From Britain Is Necessary

Egyptian Minister of Tourism, Hesham Zazou, has underscored the necessity of reducing the Air Passenger Duty (APD) to Egypt, which is assessed on passengers from UK, affecting the British tourism coming to Egypt. The duty reaches £ 30 per individual.

Zazou sees the duty is unfair towards the Egyptian destination; moreover, it influences the Egyptian tourism industry. Also the high price of the flight to Egypt makes the tourist reluctant to travel to Egypt. The flight’s price is an important factor for the tourist; the matter which makes the tourist compares the destination to others, like Tunisia, Turkey and Cyprus.

During hosting the events of the British Egyptian Business Association (BEBA), Hesham Zazou pointed to the importance of the British touristic market, like its competitive tourism destinations, Tunisia, Turkey and Cyprus, to the Egyptian economy. The Egyptian market has attracted more than 1.5 million tourists in the heyday year of 2010. He referred to the tax, saying it affects the hotels and lead to knocking down prices in the hotels and resorts.