Investors in the Red Sea have demanded tourist services be improved in support of a recent decree by the presidency to raise taxes on plane tickets by 1 percent.
Atef Abdel-Latif, a member of the South Sinai and Marsa Alam Investors Association, said in a press statement on Monday that “any tax increase in the world is followed by the addition of a new service or the upgrading of an existing one”.
Abdel-Latif does not believe this amendment will have a negative impact on tourist inflow, but he nonetheless revealed that the failure to inform tourist agencies of the decision early enough had disrupted flight reservations and encouraged rumors about the real amount for the tax increase.
Abdel-Latif suggested various forms by which flight and airline services could be enhanced.
“Services at the Cairo International Airport, which receives millions of visitors, are in need of development,” he said, adding that this can be achieved by “training employees on hospitality, selecting janitors and administrative staff with a minimum of foreign language knowledge and expanding parking lots”.
