Egyptian tour companies accept payments in Russian rubles?

The chairman of the board of directors of Emco Tourism and the former head of the Federation of Chambers of Tourism, Elhamy El-Zayat, said that the activation of the Russian payment system “MIR” in Egypt helps Egyptian tourism companies collect their debts with Russian companies.

Al-Zayat added in an interview with Al-Arabiya that activating this system is the fastest way to solve the debt problem of Russian companies.

Al-Zayat said that Russian tourism accounted for over 30% of tourism in ticket in Egypt.

He expected that the number of Russian tourists would increase with the stability of the situation and the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis.

Al-Zayat explained that tour companies deal in any currency, so they are likely to be traded in rubles and, in collaboration with banks, these amounts will be collected in Egyptian pounds, explaining that all services provided and prices are via the pound or dollar.

Tourism investors in the Red Sea have confirmed that banks have informed them of significant progress in activating the Russian MIR payment system in Egyptian locations and that it will enter in force in the next few days.

I am currently in intense talks took place between the Egyptian and Russian sides to agree to start accepting payment cards in Egyptian hotels and resorts and to increase their use in ATMs during the current tourist season.

Russian tour companies are expected to start increasing the number of their trips to Red Sea resorts in the coming period, as Russian flights only reach two trips per week.

According to data from the Ministry of Tourism and the Egyptian Chamber of Tourist Establishments, Russian and Ukrainian tourists account for about 40% of the volume of beach tourism that arrives in Egypt every year.

According to data from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism, the revenues of the tourism sector in the last year exceeded 13 billion dollars, with the return of Russian tourists to Egyptian tourist resorts, after a hiatus of about 6 years, following the collapse of the Russian plane.