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Egyptian tourist visa costs to more than double

The cost of a tourist visa for holidaymakers heading to Egypt is to more than double.

The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the visa fee for tourists visiting the country will rise from $25 to $60 (£48).

The hike will come into force on July 1 rather than March 1 after industry leaders called for a delay due to the negative impact the higher charge will have on inbound tourism to the country.

Tourism has been struggling since the downing of a Russia charter aircraft following take off from Sharm el Sheikh airport in October 2015.

UK airlines remain banned from flying to the Red Sea resort’s airport due to security concerns.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice remains in place despite a British cross-party taskforce suggesting last September that security at the airport had sufficiently improved for the government to lift its ban on flights.

Discover Egypt director Philip Breckner told The Daily Telegraph: “A family of four will be paying £200 for visas and they might only be paying £2,000 for the holiday, so that’s 10% of the whole holiday cost.”

He said the prices would affect cheaper holidays more.

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