Egypt’s tourism industry is facing a meltdown after a number of governments issued travel warnings for the popular tourist destination. But despite official alerts, Russians continue to flock to Red Sea resorts to secure their place under the sun.
The Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) announced the
cancelation of sales of tours to Egypt, after the Ministry of
Tourism warned of increased violence on the ground. The group
plans to file an official petition urging the Russian Aviation
Ministry and Transport Ministry to limit the number of flights
into Egypt. Earlier, both agencies advised Russian nationals
against traveling to Egypt.
More than 50,000 Russians already purchased tours for the end of
August and early autumn. If the country’s political unrest
continues, tour operators are expected to lose US$35 million,
ATOR director Maya Lomidze said during a Friday press conference.
Around 50, 000 Russians are vacationing in Egypt at the moment.
"Tour sales peak at the end of September for individual tours
taking place in October and November. According to rough
estimates, we are talking about 50,000 tickets. The average cost
of travel to Egypt for one person is around $600 or $700, so a
preliminary amount of losses to the travel agencies can be
estimated at $35 million," Lomidze said. She also warned that
while Egypt loses its clients, prices for other destinations such
as Turkey and Greece might rise bteween 7 to 10 percent.
Meanwhile, Russian authorities said those who bought tours to
Egypt are eligible for a full refund.
"The consumer, if he did not use the service, has the right to
demand 100 percent of their money back,” chief of Russian
consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, Gennady Onishchenko,
told reporters on Friday. He added that he does not intend to
formally prohibit Russians from vacationing in Egypt, but hoped
that they would choose to do so voluntarily.
On Thursday, Rospotrebnadzor said that Russian tourists who are
on holiday in Egypt are eligible to be evacuated from the
country, with their services and transportation paid for.
At the same time, a Russian embassy official told Interfax that a
portion of Russians already vacationing in Egypt are ending their
stay prematurely.
"As for the Russians who are now in Egypt, many of them want to
prematurely end their stay. They are getting in touch directly
with tour operators and airlines" to return home, Zaur
Huseynov said.
So far, the situation at Egypt’s Red Sea resorts is stable.
However, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry has offered to
evacuate citizens.
But despite the warnings, around 2,500 people have left for Egypt
from the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg.
"Overall, 13 fully booked flights have left,” Lomidze told
reporters. She added that 10,000 people - or 20 percent of
purchasers - have cancelled their planned tours.
"There is no full travel ban. There are only guidelines,”
deputy chief of Russia’s Federal Tourism Ministry, Eugene
Pisarevsky, told Rossiskya Gazeta. “The constitutional right
of citizens to travel outside the country cannot be limited. So
the responsibility for the trip lies entirely on the shoulders of
the travelers," Pisarevsky added.
Foreign nations limit travel to Egypt
Thomas Cook Germany and TUI Germany have cancelled all trips to
Egypt after the German Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning.
The tour companies have allowed customers to rebook to other
destinations free of charge.
Germany has advised against all travel to Egypt, although some
travel agencies continue to fly to the Egyptian beaches which
attract around 1.2 million Germans every year.
France, Belgium, Sweden, and Switzerland have also issued travel
warnings to Egypt, although it is up to individual operators to
cancel flights.
British travel agents will continue flights to Egypt's Red Sea
resorts, despite warnings from the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office not to visit most of the country. Around 40,000 Britons
are currently on holiday in Egypt, according to ABTA, which
represents the nation’s travel agents.
Meanwhile, tour operators in Finland decided to evacuate their
customers following an official government warning against travel
to the country. Travel companies Finnmatkat and Tjäreborg have
decided to fly back all Finnish residents currently on vacation
in Egypt.
“We’ve decided to cancel trips to Egypt from today until the
end of September,” Tjäreborg sales and marketing chief Peter
Kåla said.
Those in Egypt have been advised by holiday makers not to leave
their hotels, while trips to major sites such as Luxor, the
Valley of the Kings, and Saint Catherine's Monastery in Sinai
have mostly been canceled.
Prior to the Arab Spring, Egypt attracted 14.7 million visitors
in 2010 - including 2.8 million Russians, 1.5 million Britons,
and 1.3 million Germans, according to UN figures.
Before the turmoil, tourism accounted for $13 billion, or some 11
percent of the country’s GDP, according to the World Tourism
Organization.
The number of tourists plummeted to 9.5 million in 2011. In the
first five months of 2013 - before the ousting of President Morsi
- tourist numbers were up 12 percent from the year prior.