Archive for Egypt Tourism
Egypt re-opens museums and sites to draw back tourists
Posted by: | CommentsEgypt has re-opened many of its museums and historical sites which had been closed since the civil uprising started in January.
Tourists visiting Cairo’s Egyptian Museum, which houses Tutankhamun’s golden death mask, were welcomed by staff with roses.
The museum stands on Tahrir Square, the focus of the unrest, and some artefacts were stolen or damaged.
The upheaval is said to have cost the tourism industry $800m (£500m).
The usually busy galleries of the Egyptian Museum were virtually deserted when doors opened on Sunday, Reuters news agency reports.
“It was very important for us to open the museum to stop the rumours like ‘the mask of King Tutankhamun was stolen’ or there had been an orgy of looting,” said museum director Tarek El Awady.
“This is a chance for visitors to see for themselves.”
One tourist, Dutch supermarket worker Sandra de Rooij, said she and others had ventured out after assurances from tour operators.
“We gambled, we didn’t know the museum would be open,” she added.
Canadian tourist Barbara Bonkowsky said she had been “determined to come and see the museum in a new Egypt”, after the downfall of President Hosni Mubarak.
Source: BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12521034)
UK Foreign Office advises Britons to leave some Egyptian cities
Posted by: | CommentsBritish nationals in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez are being told to leave if it is safe for them to do so, following days of violent protests across Egypt.
But despite upgrading its advice, the Foreign Office (FCO) is not currently organising a formal evacuation.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was concerned by the number of Britons trying to leave at Cairo airport.
While flights were coming in and out, a lack of staff meant it was not functioning properly, he said.
Meanwhile PM David Cameron and US President Barack Obama called for an “orderly transition” of government.
After discussing the crisis on Sunday, the two leaders said the north African country needed a comprehensive process of political reform, a Downing Street spokeswoman said.
They urged the Egyptian government to respond peacefully to protests and condemned the violence of recent days.
Mr Cameron also spoke to King Abdullah of Jordan about the ongoing violence, amid fears that extremists could try to exploit the situation.
The British Ambassador to Egypt, Dominic Asquith, said there were “lots of challenges” at Cairo airport.
FCO helpline
020 7008 0000 in the UK
(02) 2791 6000 in Egypt
Holidaymakers are also advised to keep in touch with their airline or tour operator
“That’s why we’ve got the team up there trying to help,” he sad. “There are flights going in and out but it is not orderly.”
Several flights to Britain have been cancelled, people are unable to use the internet to book, and schedules have been affected by the curfew imposed in the city.
The curfew in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez was extended by an hour on Sunday night to run from 1500 to 0800 local time rather than 1600 to 0800, Egyptian state television reported.
Most of the 20,000 UK tourists in Egypt are in Red Sea resorts, which the FCO considers to be safe.
The UK Foreign Office is warning against all non-essential travel to Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and Luxor, and say that anyone “without a pressing need” to be the first three of those cities should leave if it wass safe for them to do so.
Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt told the BBC: “We do want people to take the opportunity if they are able to leave… but as yet the situation has not reached the stage where we would necessarily be considering chartering planes and getting larger numbers out.”
Passengers arriving at Heathrow from Cairo speak of “frightening” experiences in Egypt
The FO says arrangements are being made for the spouses and children of British embassy staff in Cairo to leave the country on ordinary commercial flights.
Mr Hague said the welfare of British nationals was his top priority and he had sent extra consular staff to Cairo airport.
The foreign secretary also warned that Egypt could fall into the hands of extremists unless there were peaceful reforms.
He told the BBC: “It’s to avert those risks and meet the legitimate grievances and aspirations of the Egyptian people that we are urging the Egyptian authorities… to create a more broadly-based government.”
He said reforms should be “real and visible” and elections “free and fair”.
The US embassy in Cairo is telling Americans to consider leaving the country as soon as possible and will begin evacuation flights on Monday.
In Cairo, demonstrators are back on the streets for a sixth day, demanding the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.
Alex Belfield, a presenter with BBC Leeds who is on holiday in Sharm El Sheikh, said tourists at his hotel had been told they could not leave the building for at least 24 hours.
Angry protesters gathered at Tahrir Square in Cairo amid increasing lawlessness
“This whole thing seemed a million miles away yesterday, but last night… when we got back [from dinner] the whole atmosphere had changed.
“The barricades had gone up at the front of the hotel… and there are 14 security guards in total, making it very clear we were not able to leave.”
Sean Tipton, from travel body Abta, said UK tourists required to travel to Luxor, which is a popular start and end point for Nile cruises, were “being taken to the cruise very quickly and got out of the place very quickly”.
The FO says it has had no reports of any trouble in Sharm El Sheikh.
In other travel news:
- British Midland International (BMI) said it would operate flights between Heathrow and Cairo on Monday but would change the times to operate outside the curfew. Its flights to Cairo were cancelled on Sunday
- Easyjet said it was operating a normal schedule to Egypt but offering passengers the chance to either rebook, or cancel and receive a voucher valid for future travel for up to a year
- Tui, the parent company of Thompson and First Choice, cancelled a flight to Aswan on Monday and one to Luxor on Tuesday. All excursions to Cairo and Luxor were also scrapped, but flights to Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada and Marsa Alam were not affected.
- Other travel companies have cancelled excursions from Red Sea resorts to Cairo and ancient Egyptian sites in Giza and Luxor
- British Airways and Egyptair have altered their schedules
- The Independent’s travel editor, Simon Calder, said package holidays from the UK to Red Sea resorts were going ahead as normal, and tour operators had no liability to anybody who decided not to go.
Source: BBC News (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12318528)
Sharm el Sheikh – Don’t Be Put Off From The Latest Shark Attacks
Posted by: | CommentsFor a few days in late 2010, the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh was in the spotlight as a number of shark attacks between Middle Gardens and Ras Nasrani struck horror into travellers. 4 people were injured and a 5th died. This was the 1st fatal shark attack in Egypt for a year and the 1st in Sharm for 6 years.
As with every shark attack anywhere worldwide, there is mass hysteria. The government bodies sealed seashores and diving operations although a number of people still ventured into the sea. It was not very long before two sharks were caught and shown the globe as the ones at fault. However, the Oceanic White Tip to blame for one attack was photographed by scuba divers and had different markings compared to the one which was captured.
Just as suddenly as the attacks started, they stopped. Shark gurus had travelled to Sharm from just about all over the entire world in an attempt to clarify what happened. The behaviour certainly wasn’t normal which means the only real explanation was that some type of man-made intervention were to blame.
In more remote parts of the Southern Red Sea, shark feeding will occur although it is against the law. A much more probable conclusion was that the vessel taking live sheep to Saudi Arabia threw dead livestock into the water. The busy shipping channels near the Straits of Tiran aren’t far from the spot in which the shark attacks occurred.
In reality, the reasons may never be known but things must be kept in perspective. Even though shark attacks are shocking, they’re astonishingly infrequent. In contrast, 3 tourist coach accidents in October, November and December claimed an overall total of 22 lives yet was given very little publicity. Happily, tourism in Egypt is rather tough and it has bounced back powerfully in the aftermath of a number of tragedies. Sharm is Egypt’s most well liked holiday location and will definitely be going strong in 2011.
Despite Shark Attacks, Egypt Tourism Will Grow: Minister
Posted by: | CommentsEgypt is on track to meet its tourism growth targets despite a scare following a rare series of shark attacks that affected bookings, the country’s Minister of Tourism, Zoheir Garranah, told CNBC.
Half of the beaches at the popular Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh are now open again after shark attacks that killed one and injured four had alarmed even the scientific community.
“We’re seeing there’s a slowdown in bookings, but not a frightening figure. It has to be dealt with,” Garranah said in an exclusive interview.
Although the Red Sea has always been home to sharks, Sharm El-Sheikh, widely held to be one of the world’s most pristine diving sites, has seen few accidents in previous decades.
With more than 11 percent of Egypt’s gross domestic product stemming from tourism, the government quickly flew in top scientists to find an answer as to why the behavior of sharks would change so abruptly.
“It’s not normal. There is something that happened”, Garranah said.
There is a growing consensus that a collusion of factors explains the recent spate of attacks. Among them is that a cargo ship is said to have illegally dumped animal carcasses into the sea near the beach, offering sharks easy access to food. Add to that the ecologically-disruptive fish and shark feeding, as well as unusually high temperatures in the area and the risks of a possible attack simply surge.
Aside from safe swimming areas in natural lagoons and protectorates, experts have now advised implementing general safeguards such as patrol boats, specially-trained lifeguards, stricter enforcement of feeding bans and standard operating procedures.
Non-Beach Tourism
Despite the recent shock, the government is “definitely on track” to reach its tourism growth targets for 2011, Garranah said. The number of tourists, year-to-date in November, came in 17.5 percent higher than in the same period in 2009.
Garranah expects to close out the year with a tally of 14.7 million -14.8 million tourists, and $12.6 billion to $12.7 billion in revenues.
With some 212,000 rooms under construction, Garranah sees significant growth potential in non-beach tourism, such as wellness, second-home and shopping tourism. By 2020, the government hopes to reach 25 million tourists per year; but it needs to spend some money to achieve it.
“We need to invest more in people”, Garranah cited as the main challenge. Continued investments in expanding airports, accounting for 82 percent of arrivals, and highways, offering key accessibility to resorts across the country, are also part of the equation.
The UK is the second-largest source of tourists for Egypt and Garranah was highly critical of the departure tax brackets, also known as the Air Passenger Duty (APD), which taxes air travel according to the distance between the UK and the country of destination.
High Costs
At a time when travelers are more price-conscious, Garranah was concerned that Egypt was not in the same tax category as countries like Turkey, Tunisia and Cyprus.
“I’m not against the departure tax. It’s nobody’s business to contest countries as to how to implement tax, but I’m with unifying the tax,” he said.
There has been considerable debate throughout the year among policy makers, industry executives and vacationers alike about the APD. Many countries are complaining their tourism industry will be hard hit as families may have to pay hundreds of pounds more for holidays.
Germany has followed suit with introducing ADP and other European countries are contemplating similar measures.
“They say it was for environmental reasons, everybody knows it’s for the general budget deficit,” Garranah said.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), representing some 230 airlines, also said departure taxes dampen demand and add costs for businesses.
Source: CNBC (http://www.cnbc.com/id/40713996/)
Hilton Hotels & Resorts To Open Its Fourth Property In Hurghada Egypt
Posted by: | CommentsHilton Worldwide has signed a management agreement with Afak Co. for Touristic Development Co., one of the Egyptian Engineers Companies (Zaghloul Holdings), for the newly built 676-room Hilton Makadi Resort, the fourth Hilton Hotels & Resorts property in Hurghada, Egypt.
The hotel is expected to open its doors as a Hilton Hotels & Resorts property in June 2011 with the 330 rooms that make up phase one of the project. Phase two, the final 346 rooms, is expected to open by Q2 2012. Situated in a prime location in the new area of Makadi Bay, about 30km south of Hurghada and 35km from Hurghada International Airport, the hotel overlooks the Red Sea front with a 400-meter, private sandy beach.
“Our brand’s global growth, particularly in the resort and leisure segment, continues at a rapid pace as we mark the signing of another Hilton property in Egypt. Hilton Makadi Resort will be a great addition to the market — offering guests our very own Hilton-style, world-class service and forward-thinking approach in a spectacular setting with beautiful Red Sea views,” said Dave Horton, global head, Hilton Hotels & Resorts brand.
Hurghada, Egypt is also home to Hilton Hurghada Resort, Hilton Hurghada Plaza and Hilton Hurghada Long Beach Resort. The newest Hilton Hotels & Resorts property, the Hilton Makadi Resort, will feature two meeting rooms, three lounges, an all-day dining and two speciality restaurants and will offer three swimming pools, a health club, spa, and diving center for leisure in addition to a private beach; it will be the 17th Hilton Worldwide property in the country.
“Our flagship brand first entered Hurghada in 1995.Since then the area has developed rapidly and it continues to be a growing tourist destination.Makadi Bay, in particular, is a great location for our newest hotel along the Egyptian Red Sea coast.” said Jean-Paul Herzog, area president, Hilton Worldwide, Middle East and Africa.
“Hilton Hotels & Resorts enjoys tremendous brand recognition in Egypt, which made them a natural choice for us. As the country continues to witness a growth in tourism and with the increasing popularity of Hurghada as an international destination, we’re delighted Hilton will manage our new property and look forward to a long and fruitful partnership.” said Hazem Saad Zaghloul, chairman, Afak Co. for Touristic Development Co.
Source: Hotel Interactive (http://www.hotelinteractive.com/article.aspx?articleid=19054)
