Good news for Egyptian photographers or just visitors. From now on, amateur photography is authorized in the streets and public spaces, announced the Ministry of Tourism in a press release on Wednesday. In recent months, many voices have been raised to denounce the obstacles posed to amateur photographers by the Egyptian authorities: interruption of photography sessions in the street and at tourist sites, fines and sometimes even confiscation of equipment.
Although photography in public places is not illegal under Egyptian law, except in certain places such as in and around security and military sites, it is subject to obtaining a permit. Photography will now be allowed “in all public spaces in Egypt, free of charge and without prior permission”, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced in a statement.
These new regulations apply to photographers wishing to use their images for personal and non-commercial purposes and not everything can be photographed, warns the ministry. “It is strictly forbidden to take photographs of scenes that could damage the image of the country” recall the authorities in the press release, without giving further details.
Tourism is recovering after 10 years of torment
The ministry indicates that these new regulations aim to revive tourism in Egypt, already in 2018, Egypt announced that harassment of tourists would now be punished with a heavy fine. This sector employs two of the 103 million inhabitants of the most populous country in the Arab world and represents more than 10% of its GDP.
Egypt, caught between inflation and devaluation, relies heavily on its tourism, which is just beginning to recover from ten years of political turmoil, since the “revolution” which toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011, and the pandemic of Covid-19.