Egypt’s Tourism and Antiquities Ministry has launched the second phase of its Rehla online platform, allowing Al-Azhar schools to book free visits to museums and archaeological sites.
The platform, launched in October 2025, has so far arranged more than 6,500 free school trips for over 300,000 pupils from state and experimental schools at primary and preparatory levels.
The second phase extends the electronic booking system to Al-Azhar schools across Egypt, the ministry said, as part of efforts to promote archaeological and tourism awareness among children and encourage visits to the country’s ancient heritage sites.
Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy said the expansion reflected the ministry’s drive to use digital technology to improve public services and make school visits more efficiently managed.
The platform will allow eligible state, experimental and Al-Azhar schools to book free trips throughout the academic year, in line with decisions granting free admission to primary and preparatory pupils from state schools.
The ministry said the updated system includes accounts for Al-Azhar education departments, helping authorities manage bookings according to visitor capacity and designated time slots, while reducing overcrowding and improving safety.
A QR code will be added to booking confirmation letters to verify trip details and automatically confirm whether a visit took place when the school arrives at a museum or archaeological site. Unused slots will then be made available to other schools.
The system will also allow authorities to suspend users who violate the platform’s rules for specified periods.
The reason and duration of any suspension will be displayed upon login, while booking confirmations will be available for download and sent automatically to the registered government email address.
The ministry urged Al-Azhar primary and preparatory schools to activate their accounts and review the platform’s user guide and code of conduct ahead of the full rollout on September 1, coinciding with the start of the new school year.
The Rehla platform currently covers bookings for 99 museums and archaeological sites across Egypt.
