Renad Ghanem and Shahad Al-Hamdan Saudi Gazette JEDDAH/CAIRO — Tourism agencies expect a sharp fall in the number of Saudi tourists visiting Egypt this summer owing to the vast changes in that country's political landscape. Egypt has long been a favorite destination of Saudi tourists, but their number has been dwindling since the Jan. 25, 2011 revolution that saw the ouster of Hosni Mubarak's regime. Several people are wondering how long it will take for Egypt to be back as Saudi tourists' favorite vacation destination. Tourism, the backbone of Egypt's economy, was severely hit during the popular uprising and subsequent violence in many cities frequented by tourists. Experts do not see any marked increase in the number of tourists visiting the ancient country because of the ever-looming threat of violence and protests. Saudi Gazette spoke to a number of travel agents and hotel industry officials to find out why, more than two years after the revolution, tourists are still reluctant to visit the country. Sherif Alaa, a 35-year-old Egyptian working in a private tourism company in Cairo, said Saudi tourists want to visit Egypt but are discouraged by what they see on television. “Foreigners want to visit numerous tourist attractions in Egypt and enjoy their summer. They don't want to get caught in protests or face roadblocks. Sadly, television reports greatly exaggerate the safety and security situation. Egypt is safe and people should come here to experience everything themselves.” With the exception of a handful of Saudis who own real estate in Egypt, most are otherwise reluctant to visit the country, though a few cities such as Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada have reportedly received a moderate number of tourists, Alaa said. Taghrid Youssef, an international reservation manager at Club 7 in Egypt, was cautiously optimistic of the country's tourism situation. “I cannot tell the exact number as there are a lot of travel agencies offering special vacation packages to Egypt this summer but our company is expecting a 15 percent increase in tourists this year compared to 2012,” she said, adding that most tourists this year are from Japan, Spain and Germany with Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh being the most preferred cities. However, according to Hasham Al-Hashmi, customer service representative at Al-Tayyar Travel Group, this year will see a decrease in the number of tourists visiting the country. “The number of tourists this year is lower than last year. Until recently, only around 30,000 tourists from different countries have confirmed their visit to Egypt.” Nawaf Talal, a supervisor at Saudi Arabian Airlines, told Saudi Gazette that traffic at the Egyptian sector is unclear because of the volatile political situation. "The number of flights and seats booked for Egypt this year is low compared to previous years. Most tourists are going to Sharm El-Sheikh since it is comparatively safe there,” he said. Ahmed Ali, a tourism consultant at a travel agency in Jeddah, said in the absence of Egypt as a viable tourist destination, Saudis have shown their preference to travel to Malaysia, Dubai and Turkey. “There have been a lot of cancellations this year. Hotels suffer a lot when customers cancel their reservation and they try to minimize their losses by charging a minimum percentage. Most of our customers usually ask before traveling to Cairo about hotels in areas away from Tahrir Square, which was the center of the revolution,” he said. "Saudi and Gulf tourists love to spend the holy month of Ramadan in Egypt but there's no guarantee they will feel safe enough to do that.”
