The North African country of Egypt will welcome a record 19 million tourists by 2025, continuing to rank alongside Morocco and South Africa as the most visited country in Africa.
While the biggest tourist attraction remains the Pyramids of Giza, this North African country is also home to countless other ancient ruins, as well as offering the vibrant culture of Cairo and all-inclusive resorts on the Red Sea.
According to statistics released by the government tourism office, the largest number of tourists to Egypt in 2025 will come from Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. U.S. tourist interest in the country has also grown over the past year.
While specific visa rules vary widely depending on the traveler’s passport, Egypt is currently taking steps to relax entry requirements for nationals of dozens of countries.
These include the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, as well as the 27 countries of the European Union.
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Until now, travelers from these countries had to apply for a 30-day visa on arrival upon arrival at an Egyptian airport, which cost $25, mostly paid in cash.
As first reported by local media, the latest entry changes implemented by the Egyptian government will expand the current visa exemptions for travelers from neighboring Gulf countries to more than 30 countries: EU countries, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, among others.
This will bring the total number of countries that can visit Egypt without a visa to about 40. It will also greatly simplify the process for those who previously had to queue at a visa booth after a long flight to get a visa, with visas almost always being granted automatically if there is no criminal record or past overstaying in the country.
The new rules will also save travelers the $25 they previously paid for visas.
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The moves are part of the Egyptian government’s efforts to promote the country as a tourist destination as it competes with neighbors Morocco and Tunisia for the same number of days and dollars.
However, the visa exemption does not fully apply to those intending to travel to the Sinai Peninsula and Palestinian Gaza territories bordering Israel. Those traveling to the region via entry points such as Sharm el-Sheikh or Taba will still need to apply for a “Sinai Only” visa-on-arrival stamp, which allows visitors to stay in the region for 14 days.
Those coming to resorts in the region are not allowed to use the same visa to travel to cities such as Cairo and Luxor, although they could previously apply for a mainland Egypt visa at the same checkpoint.
Details on how this process will work have not yet been released as visitors from many countries no longer require visas for most of Egypt.
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This article was originally published by TheStreet on February 17, 2026, and first appeared in the Travel section. Click here to add TheStreet as your preferred source.