Downtown hotels were expecting an influx of Arab tourists this summer. So what happened, asks Rehab Saad Cairo's five-star hotels, especially those in the Downtown area, had anticipated a bumper summer season. Arab tourists were expected to flock to the city. Given political unrest in Lebanon, Egypt's main competitor in the Arab market, and the difficulty in getting visas to Europe, Cairo hotels were preparing themselves for 90 per cent occupancy rates. Instead, occupancy rates at Downtown hotels fell between 10 to 15 per cent on recent years, and Nader El-Beblawi, head of the Tourist Committee of the Egyptian Hotels Association, reports an almost 20 per cent drop in the overall number of tourists coming to Egypt. "It has come as a big surprise. We were expecting over 90 per cent occupancy but we got only 70 per cent. The restaurant where we are sitting now has long been a favourite among Arab tourists. You could hardly find a table last summer but now it is almost empty," said one employee at a five-star hotel. "Airport officials claim the number of Arab tourists entering Egypt has remained the same, but clearly they have been more attracted to furnished apartments than to hotels and have also begun to stay in areas such as Heliopolis, Nasr City and the Pyramids. Downtown is no longer their first choice destination. They are also attracted to Sharm El-Sheikh and the Mediterranean coast," she added. "The trend among Arab tourists is changing," says El-Beblawi. "They have abandoned the five-star hotels and opted for four-stars. They have left Cairo and travelled to other destinations in Egypt simply because they are cheaper. Five-star hotels in Cairo foolishly raised their rates for Arab travellers, yet 50 per cent of Egypt's strength in the Arab market is due to its attractive pricing." The managers of five-star hotels refute claims that price increases are to blame, pointing out that it is common practice to increase rates when demand is expected to be high. "This happens in all countries in the world. Hotels in Saudi Arabia double and triple their rates during the hajj and umra. It's how the market works." Yet with hotel rooms in the town centre hitting $185 plus a night, without the 12 per cent service charge and 10 per cent tax, hotels on the outskirts of the city, in Qattamiya, Sixth of October City and the Pyramids area, are becoming increasingly attractive to Arabs. "We have had very good occupancy rates, over 90 per cent this year from the Arab market. We are close to Heliopolis and Nasr City and the Citystars mall. We run complimentary shuttle buses to different destinations: to Downtown, the Pyramids area and the Citadel so we are not isolated, we're in the middle of everything," says Sally Ismail, public relations manager of the JW Marriott in Qattamiya. She adds that the hotel's quiet location, its artificial beach and golf course are an additional attraction for the Arabs. "If they want crowds they can easily go Downtown by limousine," she says. Hotels also face competition from furnished flats. And now that the law has changed, increasing numbers of Arabs are buying apartments in Egypt, with Sixth of October City a favourite place. Indeed, several real estate companies have emerged specialised in selling property to Arabs. "It is natural that the tourist trade be split between hotels and apartments. Yet the revenue generated by tourists in apartments tends to be invisible though they consume as do those in hotels," points out Amr El-Ezaby, head of the Egyptian Tourist Authority (ETA). There is, too, the emergence of longer haul destinations such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. "These destinations have succeeded in attracting Arab travellers. They provide competitive rates, better services and tremendous facilities. This is beside the natural beauty of the countries," says Magda Sami, public relations manager of the Cairo Sheraton. "This has been happening for some time now. These countries began to woo Arab tourists many years ago. Most countries in the world are doing their best to attract Arab travellers," explains El-Beblawi. Egypt, he says, "is doing everything it can to drive Arab tourists away. Everybody is making use of them, starting with taxi drivers and ending with hotels," The Arab market is second only to Europe in terms of tourist numbers, and accounts for 20 per cent of the total number of visitors coming to Egypt. According to figures issued by the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics, Egypt received 178,328 Arab travellers in June 2007 compared to 181,036 in June 2006, a drop of 4.8 per cent. However, the period from January to June 2007 saw 852,674 tourists arrive compared with 831,195 for the same period in 2006, an increase of 2.6 per cent. "I am not optimistic. It is not a rosy picture unless radical steps are taken to improve the marketing of Egypt. But if this happens there could be an increase in the number of Arab travellers coming," believes El-Beblawi.
