With the booming summer season drawing to a close, tourism experts are expecting an even better winter. Rehab Saad examines the prospects Unlike previous years, participants at the fourth Mediterranean Travel Fair (MTF) -- which took place at the Cairo International Conference Centre (CICC) from 16- 18 September -- were optimistic. Visitors and exhibitors alike, who represent major Egyptian, Arab and international travel agencies, resorts and hotels, were discussing future bookings, plans and means of cooperation. The scene at the fair's previous two rounds was drastically different. In 2001, the fair was held just a few days after 9/11, and travel agents and hoteliers were acutely aware that their businesses were in trouble; in fact, it would be a cruel winter season. In September 2002, the war on Iraq had begun to loom large; its effect ended up being felt across the tourism sectors of both Egypt and the Middle East. The impact of those major global traumas on the tourism sector seems to have largely dissipated this year. Exhibitors said they were optimistic about a promising winter season being in the cards, provided, as one travel agent said, "nothing major happens. We go according to the political flow." Most hoteliers and travel agents agreed that Egypt had emerged from a booming summer season with high visitation figures from a variety of different nationalities: Arabs, Italians, Germans, French, Russians, Turks, Greeks and Cypriots. "There was not a single empty room in Cairo this summer," said Inas Fouad, director of travel sales at the Marriott Hotels and Resorts. "It is the first time in five years that we've gotten this amount of Arab travellers, not only in Cairo but all over Egypt." Sinai and Red Sea destinations were graced by a massive influx of tourists this summer, and even Taba -- which has suffered, over the last few years, as a result of increasing tension in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict next door -- got its share of the bounty. The German, Russian and UK markets continued to dominate this year. The Italian market also did exceptionally well, especially in El-Gouna. There was also a general increase of guests from Eastern Europe, with Poland, Hungry, the Czech Republic and Yugoslavia leading the charge. Other new markets included Portugal and Cyprus. Intra-regional travel -- particularly from Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait -- also saw a significant numbers boost. According to Edward Chaaya, general manager of the Holiday Inn Safaga Palace Resort, not only were "Europeans encouraged to spend their vacations in Egypt" because the war on Iraq had ended, but "low air fares and hotel rates... as well as the increasing frequency of charter flights between Europe and Egypt," played a role as well. Chaaya said his resort's most recent occupancy rates were at "75 per cent and we are expecting it to go up to 90 per cent in October. We are also seeing high demand for the Christmas and New Year season, with 70 per cent of our capacity already booked at high rates." Meanwhile, mega tourism projects being developed in places like Taba Heights in south Sinai, and Marsa Alam south of Hurghada, have also managed to help catalyse an increase in both demand and occupancy at other hotels and resorts in these areas, said MTF exhibitors. The Marsa Alam Airport has handled over 250,000 arrivals since opening in November 2001, with the majority of travellers coming in from Germany, Switzerland and the UK. Not everyone was ecstatic, however. Ritz Carlton Sharm El-Sheikh General Manager Thorston Ries complained of a lack of local business this summer. He said it was obvious that many Egyptians had chosen to stay at home rather than travel. Luxor may have also been one of the few places that did not boom this summer, although that is only natural considering the heat. Insiders like Reinhold Johann, the general manager of the Jolie Ville Movenpick Luxor Resort, however, predicted that things would pick up in October. "We expect more than 80 per cent occupancy this winter," he said, a figure that assured him that the European market in general, and the British in particular, are coming back. "Charters resumed their flights to Luxor," he said, "and the city increased its overall room capacity by establishing more five star hotels." Luxor had been one of the destinations most affected by both 9/11 and the war on Iraq. According to statistics provided by the Interior Ministry's passport department and the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics, July saw a record number (623,000) of incoming tourists, representing an increase of 26 per cent compared with the same month in 2002. Tourist nights also grew by nearly 79 per cent compared with the same period in 2000, reaching 4.9 million. According to Mamdouh El-Beltagui, the minister of tourism, who spoke to journalists at the MTF, "August witnessed a record number of incoming tourists, amounting to 743,000 visitors, representing an increase of 29.5 per cent. Furthermore, tourist nights reached 9.3 million, showing a tremendous growth rate of 121 per cent compared to August 2002." The minister also said that Egypt received about 3.6 million tourists from January to August, representing an increase of 10.6 per cent compared with the same period last year. Moreover, tourist nights reached 29.2 million, an increase of 35.3 per cent over the same period last year. Italy -- with 499,051 tourists from January to August -- topped the list of countries that export tourism to Egypt, followed by Germany (397,874), Russia (292,949), the UK, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Libya, France, the Benelux and Palestine. El-Beltagui said that these figures reversed the ministry's generally cautious and conservative expectations regarding the sector's post Iraq war recovery. While the ministry thought ordinary rates would begin to appear in July and a complete recovery would not take place until autumn, "June brought an unprecedented increase of five per cent over last year, then came July with its 600,000 tourists, and then August with its [equally] surprising figures," Beltagui said. Some believe that the boom is a direct result of the flotation of the Egyptian pound and its subsequent devaluation vis a vis other currencies. Amany El- Torgoman, the director of tourism operations at Travco Group, said the devaluation had "turned Egypt into a very affordable destination for travellers. Everything from accommodation, transportation, entertainment and shopping is affordable." On the other hand, Emeco Travel Director Elhamy El- Zayyat, who also heads the Egyptian Federation of Tourist Chambers, doesn't think the devaluation was the main impetus for the boom. El-Zayyat said Egypt's summer promotional campaign, conducted in some of Europe's key markets as well as the Gulf, had borne fruit. "When we do good advertising and promotional campaigns, we bring them in," El-Zayyat said. He linked the "huge" number of Italian tourists who came to Egypt in August (130,000) to the European promotional campaign. El-Zayyat also said that, "Arab travellers this summer were not able to travel to Europe or the USA because of the complications they face in processing visas. They only had Egypt and Lebanon to choose from." El-Zayyat also had kind words for the ministry's charter flight incentive programme, which is ongoing until mid-October. Launched in mid-November 2001 to rejuvenate tourism in the aftermath of 11 September, the scheme involves the Egyptian government paying 30 per cent of the cost of the charter seats when at least 50 per cent of the seats on a plane are booked. "The future looks promising and business is still good, although reservations may be low," El-Zayyat said. "But this does not mean that tourists are not coming to Egypt," explained El-Zayyat, "because there's a new trend of 'last minute booking' that affects reservations now." El-Zayyat said that in the past, tourists used to book a year or six months ahead. "After 9/ 11, and the war on Iraq, people tend to book their trips only 20 days or so before the actual date. People want to hold onto their money until the last moment," he said.
