Egypt's ailing tourism sector is breathing a sigh of relief after Germany, Italy and Denmark lifted their travel warnings on the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh last week. German tour operators announced that they would be resuming trips to the popular tourist resort, with TUI Germany, part of Europe's largest tour operator TUI Travel, saying customers would be able to book trips from 21 July. The smaller tour operator FTI also said it was offering holidays to the beach resort. Germany and Italy along with many other European countries had issued travel warnings against travel throughout the Sinai Peninsula where Sharm El-Sheikh is situated. The warnings came following a bomb attack on a tourist bus in the resort of Taba, which killed three South Koreans and an Egyptian on February 17, marking the first attack on tourists since the 25 January Revolution in 2011. The Tourism Ministry said Germany's decision had come as a result of the security and political situation becoming more stable in the country. Tourism minister Hisham Zaazou has been trying to negotiate the withdrawal of travel warnings issued in the wake of the Taba bombing. The warning issued by Germany, one of Egypt's biggest markets, caused the number of German tourists visiting Egypt in the first five months of 2014 to drop by 34.4 per cent to reach around 300,000 tourists, compared to 500,000 in the same period of 2013, official figures show. Tourism revenue overall dropped 43 per cent to $1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2014, while in May alone Egypt saw a 21 per cent decline in tourist numbers compared to the same period last year. However, tourism is set to boom over the coming period, said Magdi Selim, head of the domestic tourism sector at the Egyptian Tourism Authority. Selim said that lifting the warnings by Germany and Italy would have a positive effect that would lead to increased tourist flows by September, which marks the beginning of the winter season, normally the high season for tourism in Egypt. He said that Germany was one of the biggest tourism markets for Egypt, coming in second place to Russia in terms of the number of tourists visiting the country. German firms were also among the world's top trip organisers, he said. According to the ministry of tourism, Germany accounted for 850,000 tourists last year, bringing in more than $650 million in revenues. Selim said that Italy was also an important market and that there had been one million Italian tourists visiting Egypt in 2004. A further positive impact of lifting the warnings was that it “would send positive messages globally. It's expected that other countries will follow suit soon,” he said. Domestic tourism is also set to boom when the local holiday season begins with Eid Al-Fitr — the holiday that follows the holy month of Ramadan —when Egyptians flock to beach resorts. “By that time hotel occupancy rates in Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada should reach 100 per cent.” Selim told Al-Ahram Weekly. Egyptians could also be encouraged to go on domestic trips as a result of the new reduced air tickets rates, he added. Aviation Minister Hossam Kamal announced on Friday that prices for domestic flights would be reduced by 20 per cent throughout the year in an effort to encourage local tourism. Kamal said that the move aimed at sparing citizens the seasonal price hikes that occur during feasts and peak times, especially to destinations such as Hurghada, Sharm El-Sheikh, Luxor and Aswan. He said that Egyptair, the national carrier, had changed its pricing system and ticket rates for these destinations would remain the same throughout the year. The discounted rates would go hand-in-hand with Egyptair's offering subsidised flights to Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada, Kamal said, adding that the air tickets would be offered at LE760, with a total of two flights per day for each destination. Similar measures would be applied to Upper Egyptian destinations during winter, encouraging private flight operators to follow suit, he said. Sameh Al-Hefni, CEO of Egyptair, said holidaymakers would be able to book their flights at the reduced rates starting next week. Selim said that Arab tourism was coming back to Cairo, after significantly dropping on the back of instability in the capital. Cairo hotels had witnessed a boom this month, he said, with occupancy rates in some of them increasing by 30 per cent. Despite the drop in tourist flows seen in May, there was an 11 per cent rise in tourists from Saudi Arabia and an eight per cent rise in tourists from Bahrain, figures from the ministry showed. Tourism has been suffering badly since the 25 January Revolution. The sector, which weathered the 2008 financial crisis and recorded $12.5 billion in revenues in 2010, contributing 11 per cent to the country's GDP with almost 15 million tourists, failed to survive the political turmoil of the post-revolutionary period. Its contribution to the country's foreign reserves dropped significantly in 2011, generating revenues of $8.7 billion. In 2012, the sector picked up, and about 11.5 million tourists visited the country, generating some $10 billion in revenues. However, these advances were reversed in 2013 following the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi and the aftermath of the dispersal of the pro-Morsi sit-ins in Rabaa Al-Adaweya and Al-Nahda Square. The country's revenues from tourism plunged 41 per cent to $5.9 billion last year.
