CAIRO, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Revenues of Egypt's tourism sector have totally stopped due to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, said Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled al-Anany.
"Tourism stopped worldwide, not only in Egypt," the minister told Xinhua in a recent interview, adding that the government has taken measures to avoid a collapse of the industry.
Al-Anany noted that the Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has instructed the government to take procedures to support the tourism sector and protect its employees who provide living for some one million Egyptian families.
"The president ordered that hotels and tourist establishments to be exempt from real-estate taxes for six months to enable them to pay salaries of employees," the minister said, adding that dues of these establishments would put off for three months.
According to a presidential decree, tourism sector will be offered 50 billion pounds at low interest rates in loans to avoid sacking employees.
Besides, the president also announced three-month grants for irregular and seasonal workers.
Egypt has so far confirmed 3,144 COVID-19 cases, including 239 deaths and 732 recoveries.
Tourism is Egypt's third largest source of national income as the sector's revenues jumped by 28 percent to about 12.2 billion U.S. dollars in the fiscal year 2018/2019.
However, the vital industry has been near collapse amid the spread of the coronavirus, which prompted the authorities to close airports, restaurants, malls, museums and archeological sites before imposing a night-time curfew.
For now, al-Anany said, the ministry is carrying out an all-out campaign to sterilize hotels and tourist establishments and to inspect the employees to make sure they are coronavirus free.
"We work to preserve the rights of workers in the tourism industry to ensure they will not be laid off," he added.
Meanwhile, al-Anany said that the ministry is also disinfecting and sanitizing museums and tourist sites nationwide over coronavirus concerns.
He noted that the ministry has started daily online virtual and guided video tours of a number of museums and archaeological sites around Egypt under the slogan of "Experience Egypt from Home! Stay Home! Stay Safe!".
"This initiative enables lovers of Egyptian antiquities to see our monuments live," the minister pointed put.
Speaking about the under-construction Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), which was supposed to open by 2020, the minister said the project inauguration has been postponed to 2021 over coronavirus concerns.
"Works at the GEM are still ongoing," the minister said, noting that the ministry has to cut down the numbers of workers to ensure their safety.
Constructed on approximately 500,000 square meters, the mega museum is located nearby the Giza Pyramids. It is expected to be one of the largest museums in the world presenting a heritage of ancient civilization.
"As many as 1,300 workers and engineers are currently working at the museum...they all take the necessary preventive measures such as wearing mask and gloves as well as maintaining social distancing," Minister al-Anany revealed.
He said, there are crews that carry out restoration works, while other teams are transferring relics and antiquities into the museum.
"Work in the small halls has been suspended to avoid crowds," the minister stressed.
Regarding archaeological discoveries and excavations, the minister explained that some archaeological missions are still working so far, however, many foreign missions suspended their activities due to the crisis of the coronavirus.
"Our main goal is peoples' well-being, that is why so many activities that witness large congestions have been delayed," al-Anany said. Enditem
