CAIRO – Deputy Premier and Industry and Transport Minister Kamel el Wazir launched a local yacht platform as part of activities of the 7th session of the Egypt International Yacht and Boat Show, which is held at the Cairo International Convention and Exhibition Center (CICC) from February 6-9.
In a statement on Friday, the Transport Ministry said that the platform is a major step towards boosting marine tourism in Egypt and maximizing the benefit from local yachts.
The Transport Ministry, represented by the maritime transport sector, will manage the platform that aims at facilitating the services provided to tourist yachts in marinas, read the statement.
Through this platform, yacht owners and investors in the marine tourism sector can offer their efficient services in a more organized and transparent way, according to the statement.
The platform will substantially contribute to stimulating the local maritime sector and opening new opportunities for investment in cruise yachts.
It will also improve the interaction processes between service providers (logistics support, maintenance, and marine activities) and marina visitors.
It will greatly contribute to enhancing governance and establishing yacht registration procedures, and ensuring compliance with environmental and maritime safety standards in tourist marinas.
The Transport Ministry said that the local yacht platform will be integrated with the single online platform for foreign yachts, known as “Yachts Single Window”, which the ministry launched in September 2022, to provide substantial levels of digital services in the area of yacht tourism in Egypt.
Through the platform, yacht owners can submit the necessary data and documents to apply for entry, pay a fixed fees on all berths, passenger terminals and tourist ports, and receive invoices.
The digital window automatically sends the documents to the relevant authorities to review the factual data, documents and sends back their approvals to the official website of the maritime transport sector to issue a single approval for the cruises within 30 minutes.
The Transport Ministry said that this comes as per President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s directives.
The issuance of an invoice for the foreign yacht to be collected electronically in US dollars through the “Yachts Single Window”, it said.
It further noted that finalizing the procedures for foreign tourist yachts has previously taken a lengthy period ranging from 15 to 30 days.
The transport minister opened the 7th edition of Egypt International Boat Show.
