Hungary lifts travel ban on nationals bound for Egypt

Hungary is the latest country to change travel advice for its citizens planning to visit Egypt, lifting a ban on all Red Sea resorts, Cairo, Luxor and Aswan. Advice against traveling to the troubled area of northern Sinai remains in place.

A number of countries announced travel bans earlier this year, following political turbulence that saw violent clashes on the streets of Egypt’s main cities.

In September, Germany, Hungary, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Norway, France, Slovenia, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia and Switzerland lifted their travel bans.

Tourism, a critical part of the country’s economy, remains troubled, however.

Khaled Saad, the governor of Luxor, attributed the low number of hotel bookings in Egypt for the important New Year period to the fact that such reservations must be made in advance, and this coincided with the enforcement of a curfew in most parts of the country. The curfew, in place for three months, was lifted in mid-November. He made the remark in an interview broadcast on Channel 1’s “Sabah al Kheyr ya Masr” program on Sunday.

Saad said that bookings have increased by 20 percent despite the turmoil, and are expected to increase with greater political stability and after the lifting of travel bans by a number of countries.