That’s a good question for all the pyramid lovers out there.
In uncertain times, where it is no longer known whether to fear viruses, Isis, old-fashioned terrorists, robberies and kidnappings, or a simple road accidents, I will try to answer the question is Egypt dangerous for tourists in 2025?
Egypt dangerous for tourists: a brief introduction
To start answering, I have to ask you what you want to do in Egypt. Having stumbled upon this blog, I doubt that you belong to a billion-dollar corporation or secret service whose purpose is to overthrow the Egyptian government and install a puppet of the Western powers, right?
So if you are a tourist, the simplest and fastest answer to your question about dangerous Egypt is simply no, Egypt is not dangerous.
That said, you know that simple answers to complex questions are rarely satisfactory (unless you vote for the Italian party Lega and a few others around the world), so it really seems appropriate to address the issue a little more in detail.
Follow me:
- Let’s introduce a distant cousin of Egyptian tourism, the Egyptian economy
- Let’s talk about two friends, Security, and Politics
- A brief overview of the most common scams
- Finally, a quick mention of gay/lesbian rights and civil liberties. Yes, I know, we are tourists, but we are tourists of the 21st century my dear.
Is Egypt dangerous for tourists? The economic situation of Egypt
If we want to answer the question if Egypt is dangerous for tourists, we have to tackle the economic situation first and then the political one. As for the economy, two quite different stories are told.
One story tells us that the economic management of Al-Sisi and the military, who in one way or another control an important slice of the Egyptian economy, is in fact a success. The GDP growth rate in 2019 was above 5% and this should repeat itself in 2020 (pre-corona hypothesis, I admit). Inflation remains at 10% but in sharp decline from 29% in 2017. Foreign debt will drop slightly and the debt / GDP percentage is also down from 108 to 90 (expected for 2020).
These data put confidence in some international players who have therefore started investing in the Middle Eastern country again. So far so good?
Not exactly. In fact, 58% of the state budget is used to repay the interest on loans taken out and the new lines of credit granted by the IMF have led to very heavy cuts in subsidies for food and fuel, generating obvious resentment in the weakest and poorest parts of the population, which also had to suffer the imposition of VAT.
Official unemployment remains double-digit and in short, we know that austerity policies rarely benefit the local population, at least in the short term.
Security, and politics
Politically, the situation is much clearer. Al-Sisi remains firmly in power, the generals have a free hand, dissent is crushed and freedom of speech exists as long as one speaks well of the government and does not exaggerate with extravagance, be it artistic or sexual tastes or opinions.
Sinai remains a hot place, better to avoid, especially for tourists, with the exceptions of the touristic enclave like Sharm El Sheik (that suffered a terrorist attack in 2005). The flight of the Russian company Metrojet crashed in the Sinai, probably due to a bomb on board, on 31 October 2015, and clashes between the Egyptian army and terrorists practically take place every month.
Despite this, as previously said, Sharm El Sheik remains heavily guarded and outside the range of the terrorist cells. In a few words, safe.
In the rest of the country, with due attention (remember the attack in Luxor in 1997 and that of Taba on a tourist bus in 2004), the situation seems to be much quieter than in the Sinai region.
Petty crime and road accidents
Petty crime and traffic accidents should certainly worry you more than terrorism. Egyptian roads are not always in good condition and are driven by vehicles that are not always spotless. Getting around, especially at night, can be dangerous.
Cairo also has a particular status in connection to all petty crimes such as pickpocketing, theft, and, for female tourists, harassment. Harassment on the street and elsewhere is a very serious problem in Egypt, especially if you stray off the beaten tourist routes.
Is Egypt dangerous for tourists? the most common scams
We have all been there. A magnificent archeological site that is a magnet for tourists from all around the world and a local population that barely survives with scraps… it’s a perfect combination for some “little” scams. That’s one of the reason why “scams” are so common in Egypt. Some can be almost harmless, like paying a little bit ore for an item, others can be pretty bad and put you in difficult situation. Let’s see some of the most common:
- camel rides and guided tours near the pyramid. I’m pretty sure you have seen some videos. Fake guides, fake police, and super overpriced camel rides are the norm around the pyramids. Not much you can do about it. It can be stressful I know, just mind your own business and go your own way. If you really want a guide or a camel ride, ask at the hotel
- stolen goods on a beach while you are swimming. Simply put, don’t bring your passport or valuables to the beach. As an Italian that is always on my mind when I go to the beach but I agree that this may not be the case for everyone
- overpriced items. Simply put, bargain. If you think you can win with an experienced Egyptian merchant, good luck, but at least you can try.
- hotel rooms with way worse views or amenities than you expected. Check the room before paying if you haven’t booked before. If you did then you can try to reason with the reception. In any case try to go on the safe side by booking only decent looking place and maybe go for the big names (I’m not a fan of that but Hilton, Ramada, Radisson, they normally have decent prices in Egypt and decent services).
Is Egypt dangerous for tourists…or not? The LGBT rights issue
In terms of equal rights for the LGBT community, Egypt still has a long long way to go. As this Wikipedia page clearly shows, being homosexual is not formally recognized as a crime. In the last 20 years, however, there has been a tightening of the authorities and frequent interventions against homosexual parties and any act that may, according to the authorities, violate religious and moral norms.
In 2017, a bill was made to make homosexuality a crime.
In any case, homosexual relationships or acts of any kind can lead to a sentence of 17 years in prison. Middle Ages here we come!
Egypt dangerous for tourists, my conclusion
If you are a tourist traveling to one of the resorts on the southern Red Sea (Marsa Alam, Quseir, and Berenice) or Hurgada, or in one of the hotels in Sharm, the dangers will most likely come from the bloated and tasteless portions of the buffets rather than from terrorism or petty crime. You may have to bargain a bit if you want to take some hikes but, it is understood that the virus situation does not get worse this winter, and everything should be normal in 2025.
Different, very different, is the matter if you travel independently or are based in Cairo. Common crime exists in all big cities and as a tourist, you will be a flashy target, quite inviting and easy to fool. Nothing that an experienced traveler hasn’t already faced but if you’re a novice it could be quite stressful. This is still Africa.
Finally, a mention of the situations related to the death of Giulio Regeni and the case of Patrick Zaky. The responses of the Egyptian government in the Regeni case have been, in the face of a clear responsibility of the government security apparatus, simply inadequate if not ridiculous.
The Patrick Zaky case is still open. The detention period was recently extended by another 45 days. The attention on the case gives hope that the terrible consequences, like that of Giulio Regeni, will be avoided. Nonetheless, Patrick remains in prison, without a precise charge and without evidence of any crimes committed, by now since February 2020.
The battle for justice will be long, and you will hardly become part of it, but even if we are only tourists trying to answer the question “Is Egypt dangerous for tourists?” we must address the issue of civil rights and of innocent lives taken by authoritarian governments.
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