Egypt holidays are on the rise for British tourists, according to Thomas Cook.
Bookings for 2018 are up by 89 per cent, with other troubled destinations such as Tunisia and Turkey also seeing an increase in holidays.
Yet Egypt sellers and traders have a reputation for harassing tourists in an imposing way, putting many off from travelling.
A new law has been put in place by the Egyptian government banning street vendors from harassing tourists near popular attractions.
The fine for this who break the law is as much as £400.
The new law states that anyone dealing with tourists “with the intention of begging or promoting, offering or selling a good or service” will be breaking the law.
Local vendors have denied there is a problem in the area and that it is still safe to go to the tourist attractions.
Oscar Saleh, who offers camel rides near Giza, told The Guardian: “Go visit the Egyptian Museum, go visit the pyramids – no one will bother you.”
This is in spite of the current advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) warning of the aggressive methods.
It warns that there is a “risk that tourists at high-profile sites like the Giza Pyramids may be confronted aggressively for money or business, even while travelling by car or taxi”.
Some MPs in the country think the fines are not steep enough and that more needs to be done to protect tourism.
Former minister of antiquities Zahi Hawass spoke on an Egypt TV show: “A EGP 10,000 fine is not enough.
”There should be both a fine and a prison sentence, because these people harm the income of the country.”
A number of incidents to have plagued the country have affected tourism in recent years.
Flights to Sharm el-Sheikh were suspended in 2015 after a Russian plane crashed into North Sinai after a terrorist attack.
Numbers have dwindled from 15 million in 2010 to just 5 million in 2016.
Whilst the UK is yet to announce flights to Sharm el-Sheikh are to commence again, the FCO states the government is still working to “enable regular flights between the UK and Sharm el Sheikh to resume”.
Popular destinations in the country are Cairo, the capital city, Alexandria and Hurghada.
Travellers wanting to visit the country should also be wary of fake tourist visa websites that have recently emerged for British travellers looking to travel to Egypt.
