Mohamed Shaalan, head of the tourist agencies department said that the Tourism Ministry will not issue licenses for new tourist agencies until March 2016.
In a phone call with the Anadolu news agency on Tuesday, Shaalan said that "The issuing of licenses has been stopped, as the Egyptian market does not need new tourist agencies at the moment.” He indicated that there are currently 2300 tourist agencies in Egypt.
Elhamy al-Zayyat, head of the Egyptian Federation of Chambers of Tourism, said they called on the ministry not to issue new licenses during the next 10-15 years, adding that the market does not need more agencies.
Speaking to Anadolu, Zayyat said that the increased number of agencies before January 2011 revolution is the cause of the current problems suffered by the sector, in light of the decline in the number of tourists over the past few years.
Also, the competition between tourist agencies operating in Egypt is very strong, so increasing the number of companies will not improve the situation, he added.
Edited translation from Anadolu Agency
