Egypt has drafted this month a new bill that would impose hefty fines on tourist harassers as part of the state\u2019s efforts to attract additional tourists and heal the country\u2019s ailing tourism industry.<\/p>\n
State television quoted Egypt\u2019s Antiquities Minister, Khaled El-Anani, as saying at a press conference that the draft law stipulates that a tourist harasser could receive a fine ranging from LE 3,000 to LE 10,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe draft law ensures that if tourists experience an act that displeases them in any way, the harassers is subjected to get a maximum fine of LE10,000,\u201d El-Anani said, adding that this new article is introduced to be added to the previous Antiquities Law which was issued back in 1983.<\/p>\n
The parliament, however, has to approve the proposed draft bill before it become an effective law.<\/p>\n
Local hawkers of souvenirs in Egypt\u2019s touristic sites are often seen chasing and nagging visitors at the country\u2019s sightseeing sites to force them to buy their wares \u2014 a practice that annoys many and blemishes Egypt\u2019s reputation abroad.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuch practices irritate tourists and send them a ghastly notion about Egypt and the Egyptian people. That is why this law aims to curb these perceptions,\u201d El-Anani said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope that this law, if correctly implemented, would not just end the constant nagging of shop owners at touristic sites, but also put an end to sexual harassment that greatly hinders our touristic reputation abroad,\u201d Reda Halfawi, a member of the Tourism Investors\u2019 Association said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis decision sends a message to the world that Egypt is actively taking the legal measures necessary to put an end to widely reported incidents of harassment,\u201d Akawy added.<\/p>\n
El-Anani stated that among the proposed changes approved by the council of ministers is a law that will make illegal excavations and trade in antiquities offences punishable by up to life imprisonment.<\/p>\n
In recent years, the illegal practices have become widespread in Egypt, mainly due to a security breakdown that hit the country following the 2011 uprising.<\/p>\n
Egypt has an unrivaled wealth of antiquities dating back to different eras. Egypt\u2019s tourism industry, a crucial source of hard currency, has suffered in the years of turmoil that followed the mass protests, as well as from the suspected bombing of a Russian plane in Sinai in 2015, which killed all 224 people on board.<\/p>\n
The number of tourists visiting Egypt this year could come close to levels seen before its 2011 uprising, encouraged by investments in airport security and a cheaper Egyptian pound, the country\u2019s Tourism Minister said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Egypt has drafted this month a new bill that would impose hefty fines on tourist harassers as part of the state\u2019s efforts to attract additional tourists and heal the country\u2019s ailing tourism industry. State television quoted Egypt\u2019s Antiquities Minister, Khaled El-Anani, as saying at a press conference that the draft law stipulates that a tourist […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":12005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7863],"tags":[2484,9092,9093],"class_list":["post-12003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english-section","tag-egypt","tag-new-bill","tag-tourist-harassers"],"yoast_head":"\n