The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Egypt’s economy has long been dependent on the income from tourism. One thing standing in the way of improving the tourist’s experience in Egypt has been the lack of professionalism of those providing services to them. The nagging of some vendors annoys tourists and makes them feel uncomfortable, and even unsafe, but after recent developments, this should all be over soon.

The Egyptian parliament has approved an article from the Antiquities Protection Law, one that ensures that vendors who harass tourists to sell goods or services, inside touristic sites or museums, will be fined up to 10,000 EGP.

Such a hefty financial fine is necessary to stop the harassers from the sort of begging they do in order to convince tourists to buy something from their shops. This will no longer be tolerated, and the 10,000 EGP fine is planned to minimise those incidents, and make vendors think twice before engaging in such contact.

The Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anani said that “although this article does not exist in any other country, we are in grave need of it in Egypt. A parliament member, Ehab El-Tamawy, actually advocated for the intensification of the punishment, by raising the financial fine to 20,000 EGP.

What’s your opinion on these developments? Will they be good for tourism, or are they too harsh on vendors?