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Tipping in Egypt


Tipping in Egypt

Because of the economic situation of the country nowadays with an ever-expanding population and depletion of resources, this means that a lot of people may be unemployed (a rate which is much higher than in more developed countries). Even those who are employed in the service or hospitality industry (ie. restaurants, hotels, bars, etc.) are most likely underpaid as their wages do not really reflect the value of the work they do. It is even more difficult for them to make a living with the problem of non-stop inflation, which means prices for everything even basic commodities like food and water keep rising steeply, while their wages remain the same and if they do rise, will not even rise to a fration of the increase that prices have risen to. This means that 90% of people who work in the service/hospitality industry try to make their main source of income from living off of tips. In fact, for these people tips form a large majority of their income because without tips, their monthly wages/salaries would simply not be enough for them to survive in a place where prices rise steadily and salaries remain the same. Having read that, please bear in mind that these people quite often live hard lives, often responsible for feeding large families and may very well live in poverty simply because their income from work is not sufficient for them to live easy lives. Many of them are forced in these jobs because otherwise they would not find another job at all, in a country with such high unemployemnt rates and overpopulation. Thus, don't be surprised or offended if almost everyone at your hotel asks for a tip, even if all they did was a small thing. You don't have to pay huge tips as often smallest bills are appreciated. However, you don't have to tip if you feel that you haven't received any service or help at all or if you feel that the service was bad. Nobody will ever take offense or be disrespectful if you did not tip them. Some general guidelines:
  • Bathroom attendants: LE 3
  • Cruises: LE 30/day, to be divided by all staff on board
  • Guide: LE 40/day
  • Hotel bellman: LE 10 for all bags
  • Hotel doorman: LE 10 for services rendered (flagging down taxis etc)
  • Restaurants: In fancier restaurants, a service charge (10-12%) is added to bills, but a 5-10% tip on top of that is common. In fast-food places, tipping is unnecessary.
  • Taxi drivers: 10% on metered fares, but not necessary if you agreed the fare in advance
  • Site custodians: LE 5 if they do something useful, none otherwise
  • Tour drivers: LE 10/day
  • If you ask a stranger for directions, tips are not necessary and may even be considered offensive. Officials in uniform, such as police officers, should not be tipped. Remember that bribery is technically illegal, although if forced to provide one you can rest assured that nothing will happen to you. Last but not least, be aware that as a foreign tourist, you are seen by many as easy money and you should not let yourself be pressured into tipping for unnecessary or unrequested "services" like self-appointed tour guides latching on to you.

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    Egypt Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.

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