After a significant decrease of the influx of British tourists to Egypt in recent years, international travel agencies have forecasted a promising surge in tourists from the United Kingdom, saying that the number of bookings and flights has witnessed a significant increase during 2018.
Recent statistics indicate that Egypt received 730,000 tourists in February 2018, a 35 percent increase compared to the same month in 2017.
According to a report released by Egypt’s official statistics body the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), Britons ranked sixth in the number of tourists visiting Egypt with at least 26,338 tourists arriving in January.
CAPMAS said that the total number of tourists who visited Egypt in January reached 712,342. Western European countries ranked first with a total of 220,719 tourists, a 47.3 percent jump compared to January 2017.
The UK imposed a travel ban on direct flights to popular tourism resort Sharm El Sheikh following the downing of a Russian passenger plane over the troubled Sinai peninsula in October 2015, that killed everyone on board.
Speaking to Al-Shorouk newspaper, Moudy Al-Shaer, an official at Blue Sky – Thomas Cook’s global agent in Egypt – said that while the German market is still ranking first in the number of tourists visiting Hurghada and Marsa Alam, there is an increasing number of British tourists visiting Hurghada.
British ambassador to Cairo John Cassin also lamented in February that British tourists to Egypt are beginning to return in large numbers. In early 2018, Thomas Cook announced the launch of direct flights from the East Midlands Airport to Egypt while also declaring a larger number of flights planned for the year, Cassin said.
The ambassador stated at the end of 2017 that Thomas Cook will be resuming flights to the Egyptian city of Marsa Alam in order to accommodate “growing British demand” for Egyptian holidays. Thomas Cook’s suspension of flights to Marsa Alam had been imposed since 2008, but now the airline will operate two flights each week from Birmingham airport and London Gatwick airport.
Meanwhile, Atef Abdul Latif, Chairman of the ‘Travelers’ Tourism Association and a member of the Marsa Alam and South Sinai Investors Associations, said in a press statement that there are very positive signs that British tourism to Egypt in 2018 will surge, particularly in wake of strengthened relations between Egypt and Britain in trade, industry, and tourism.
In a related context, the British Apta travel association released its annual travel trend report in which it expected a strong return of British tourists to Egypt and Tunisia in 2018 after years of anxiety over political unrest and terrorism. The report explained that the negative effects of the last period, including flights being discontinued and travel warnings being issued, have now been overcome.
The CAPMAS report added that the Eastern European countries came in second, growing 55.5 percent compared to the same month last year with the total number reaching 183,465.
Egypt’s tourism sector, a key source of foreign currency, was badly hit in the aftermath of the 2011 uprising when social unrest rocked the country.
http://www.egyptindependent.com/british ... 8-reports/
And from the new Tourism minister herself .....
Minister of Tourism Rania Al-Mashat announced that the number of tourists visiting Egypt has jumped by 30 percent during the first quarter of 2018 compared to last year. The announcement came during a press conference on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market exhibition taking place in Dubai. Mashat added that tourism now represents 15 percent of the total sources of income for the national economy.
Mashat attributed the success to the latest campaign efforts for Egyptian tourism, adding that new methods will be followed to attract more tourists in the coming period. These new methods will include a new campaign to encourage flying to Egypt, in cooperation with the Minister of Civil Aviation Sherrif Fathy, as well as an elaborate social media campaign, that makes the best use of the internet to promote tourism.
The campaign will aim at showcasing Egypt and bringing “virtual happiness” to people, thereby encouraging them to visit. Another campaign will be launched in parallel targeting Arab tourists in the Gulf area in Ramadan to encourage them to visit Egypt during the feast, as well as during the rest of the summer. She also added that Egypt now has eight international offices to promote tourism in different regions.
Mashat admitted that right now, Egypt is not making the best use of social media to promote tourism saying, “we have shortcomings in dealing with social media platforms, and our priority is to begin dealing with the issue”.
She added that Egypt will begin targeting new regions for tourism such as Gabal Al-Galala in Al-Ein Al-Sohkna, as well as Al-Alameen in the North Coast.
Finally, Mashat expressed her happiness towards the resumption of Russian flights to Egypt after almost a two-year ban.
Egyptian aviation officials will hold a meeting with their Russian counterparts in May to discuss the return of Russian flights to Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada after a two-and-a-half-year flight suspension. Russian flights were banned in Egypt following the downing of a Russian plane over the Sinai in 2015, killing everyone onboard.
In January 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a presidential decree to resume flights between Cairo and Moscow. Both countries have signed a joint civil aviation cooperation protocol.
Russian tourists formerly had the lion’s share of tourism in Red Sea pearls Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada until the decision to suspend flights.
According to Russian state media outlet Russia Today, at least 3.16 million tourists are expected to visit Egypt following Russia’s decision to lift a ban on direct flights to Cairo.
Minister of Tourism Rania Al-Mashat took office in January 2018. She is a leading expert in monetary policy and international economics, who has worked with leading international financial institutions.
http://www.egyptindependent.com/tourist ... -minister/
Mmmmmm......interesting. What the hell is "virtual happiness"The campaign will aim at showcasing Egypt and bringing “virtual happiness” to people....
Answers on a postcard........
