Japan has eased travel warnings against Egypt following what it says is an improvement in security conditions in the country.
The Japanese embassy in Cairo made the announcement on Tuesday, saying new areas had been listed as safe to visit for its nationals.
Prior to the downgrade Japanese nationals had been warned against visiting some parts of the North African country, including Alexandria, greater Cairo, Hurghada, Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbel.
The advisory’s downgrade by the Japanese embassy in Cairo now only arns against travel to North Sinai, the Western Desert and the border with Libya.
Several countries, including the U.S., have asked their citizens not to travel to Sinai, with the exception of Sharm El-Sheikh by air, the Western Desert and the Egyptian border region with Libya due to terrorism and military campaigns.
Egypt has been seeking to attract more tourists from Asian nations following a drop in arrivals from Russia. Russian tourists rank among top arrivals from foreign nations.
In February 2016, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi used a historic visit to Japan to urge the country’s citizens to visit his country, stressing that Cairo is committed to protecting the safety of its visitors.
In October 2017, Egypt’s flagship airline EgyptAir resumed flights between Cairo and Tokyo following a four-year suspension, with a number of flights dependent on the demand in the Egyptian tourism market.
This came after the resumption of direct EgyptAir flights between Luxor and Tokyo in 2016, in efforts to revive tourism to Luxor, considered one of Egypt’s most important touristic destinations in Upper Egypt.
