Egypt says it has revoked the license of a leading hotel in South Sinai s Sharm El-Sheikh after it laid off workers amid the coronavirus pandemic, a statement by the tourism and antiquities ministry read.
According to a statement on Sunday, Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khaled El-Anany revoked the hotel s license over its failure to adhere to directives issued by the ministry to protect trained labour from layoffs during the coronavirus crisis.
The move comes a few weeks after the minister revoked the licence of a hotel in the Red Sea governorate after it failed to pay the wages of its employees.
El-Anany also ordered the closure of two restaurants in Greater Cairo for not adhering to anti-coronavirus health regulations.
Egypt is imposing a number of conditions in its hotels and restaurants, including operating with a maximum of 50 percent of their workforces as well as conducting medical check-ups for staff and measuring body temperatures daily.
Last week, the government gave a green light to restaurants to run delivery and takeout services throughout the week after it shortened the night-time curfew during Ramadan.
The Egyptian tourism sector, one of the country’s main sources of foreign currency, continues to suffer huge blows amid the pandemic after it had seen significant recovery in the past few years.
The tourism sector s losses will reach $1 billion per month after an enforced air traffic suspension last March, Al-Anany said in previous statements.
Egypt s Minister of Planning Hala El-Said said that tourism revenues in the current fiscal year (2019/2020) are expected to reach about $11 billion instead of the $16 billion expected before the outbreak of the coronavirus.
