Egypt moves to close easy access for tourists

Egypt's tourism industry is expressing anger at the government which on Thursday decided to tighten rules for issuing entry visas to tourists due to security concerns

Reuters news agency has reported that tourism officials fear that the move could further damage the country's industry - one of its main sources of foreign currency and investment

Reuters reported that the Egyptian cabinet said late on Thursday that it had decided to cancel the option of obtaining a tourist visa at Egyptian airports to individuals or groups travelling independently.

It said only groups travelling through licensed tour operators would be granted entry visas at Egyptian airports. Others must obtain visas in their home countries before travelling.

Egypt has been stepping up its internal security and in July detained four U.S. nationals for taking pictures in the Suez Canal area and an Italian for taking pictures of a military building in Cairo.

The chairman of Egypt's Tourism Authority, Amr El-Ezaby, told state news agency MENA on Friday the decision would "harm the flow of tourism to Egypt ... and is not understood and its purpose is also not understood".

Tourism was hit hard after the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak but has been recovering slowly since then. last week the Egyptian Ministry of Planning reported tourism revenues in 2010-11 were $10.6 billion down from $11.6 billion in 2009-10.