Options for Travelers Headed to Egypt
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This was meant to be a banner year for Egyptian tourism. The ministry of tourism was anticipating more than 14 million visitors in 2011, a record. It was hardly unrealistic, considering that Egypt had 12.5 million visitors in 2009, and in the first nine months of 2010, despite the continuing global recession, had already seen 10.5 million visitors pass through the country.
"Egypt was, without a doubt, one of the primary destinations for our travelers," said Amy Kotkin, director of Smithsonian Journeys, based in Washington. "It is simply one of those life journeys, an iconic destination with antiquities we have all learned about since our youth." She said that Smithsonian Journeys had to cancel trips involving more than 200 travelers who had been scheduled to depart for Egypt this February and March through a joint program the company runs with Collette Vacations, a tour company based in Rhode Island.
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, Egypt is one of the top 25 destinations worldwide, accounting for 1 percent of the global tourism market. The current crisis is estimated to be costing Egypt $310 million a day, according to a recent report from Credit Agricole, a bank based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which also reported that tourism last year accounted for 6 percent of Egypt's gross national product.
So what are travelers, airlines and tour companies doing about cancellations and delayed trips? "The majority who can postpone are doing so with the hope that things will improve," said Pamela Lassers, director of media relations at Abercrombie & Kent USA, adding that the company has canceled all trips to Egypt through March 31 and is providing full refunds to those who do not wish to rebook. Those who are locked into vacationing at that time, she said, have chosen destinations like East Africa or the Galápagos as an alternative.
First Published February 11, 2011 12:00 am
