SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Reuters - Sudan looks to pyramids to attract tourism - and hard currency
Reuters feature piece explores the transitional government’s attempts to raise money from tourism.
Graham Abdel-Qadir, undersecretary of the ministry of information, culture and tourism, told Reuters that the visa system has been relaxed, including dropping a permit required for travel outside Khartoum. Abdel-Qadir claimed that “there has been already a rise of tourists in October and November thanks to the new system,” and he predicted that 900,000 will arrive in 2020, and that 1.2 million may arrive in 2021.
Reuters notes that Sudan has more pyramids than Egypt, but attracted only about 700,000 tourists in 2018 compared to Egypt’s 10 million. Sudan’s inability to attract tourists is attributed to the conflicts and crises under Omar al-Bashir, a tough visa regime, a lack of roads and decent hotels outside Khartoum.