Tourism Minister: Holiday homes are not a substitute for hotels, and safety, security and cleanliness are the most important requirements
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy stressed that the holiday homes system aims to maintain a decent standard of accommodation for tourists, adding that after a period no one will be able to offer an accommodation unit for rent on specialized global platforms such as Airbnb unless they have a license from the Ministry of Tourism. He stressed: "We will not leave tourists exposed to anyone who sells them a good accommodation product and then they face a different reality."
He added that owners of holiday home units must provide the requirements needed for their tourism use, as licenses will not be renewed for any unit that does not comply with these requirements.
Fathy noted that safety, security and cleanliness are the most important elements for holiday homes, and are the focus of the ministry in its effort to help unit owners create a successful and creditable accommodation model to offer tourists.
He pointed out that there is a variety of categories, from one-room studio apartments to serviced and regular apartments and new standalone buildings, and that there is strong demand for this activity, requiring an increase in the number of the ministry's inspection staff for this activity to carry out sufficient inspections.
Speaking on the sidelines of the General Assembly of the Egyptian Tourism Federation, the minister said a law has been approved regulating land under the jurisdiction of the New Urban Communities Authority to convert land and buildings into projects used as holiday homes.
The minister explained that holiday homes will not replace hotels but will complement them by providing a variety of accommodation options for tourists, as one of the challenges facing the tourism sector is the availability of hotel rooms within the sector's strategic plan.
