Egypt charges tourist ships in dollars as greenback crisis spirals
Egypt commits tourist boats arriving in its ports to pay in US dollars amid a tough dollar shortage crisis in the populous country.
CAIRO — The Egyptian government decided this month to charge foreign yachts and tourist ships, anchoring in Egyptian ports, in US dollars, instead of the Egyptian pound, for the first time.
The decision, made by the minister of transport, went into effect the following day, on April 11.
Government officials pin their hopes on the new move to increase US dollar revenues.
Ahmed al-Shami, maritime transport adviser for the Egyptian government, talked to Al-Monitor about the new measure. "This decision will reduce pressures on the Egyptian pound that caused it to lose much of its value against foreign currencies in the past period," he said.
