Consumers are tightening their belts as recessionary fears overshadow confidence in a slowly recovering economy, Sherine Nasr reports This year has witnessed a significant decrease not only in the number of tourists visiting Egypt from all around the world, but especially tourists from the Gulf. According to figures released by Egypt's Tourism Development Authority, the number of Gulf tourists visiting Egypt during June declined 42 per cent compared to the same month last year. Tourists from the United Arab Emirates declined 50 per cent, those from Saudi Arabia 40 per cent, and Kuwaitis 39 per cent. Ezzat Abdel-Ghaffar, regional internal auditor at Travco, a leading travel agent, said that tourists from the Gulf states did not come to Egypt this year due to the political unrest the country is witnessing. He explained that Gulf tourists visiting Egypt usually head to Sharm El-Sheikh where they mainly target Neama Bay. Neama Bay is Sharm El-Sheikh's leading resort area with an abundance of hotels, restaurants and attractions along the coastal strip. But this year, according to Abdel-Ghaffar, Neama Bay has been hit hard by the political unrest. It witnessed a sharp decline in the number of tourists visiting it from all around the globe, and most of its bazaars and shops are closed at night. "The circumstances have discouraged Gulf tourists from going to Sharm El-Sheikh," Abdel-Ghaffar told Al-Ahram Weekly. "The number of Gulf tourists who visited Sharm El-Sheikh in 2011 is close to zero per cent." But it is not only Sharm El-Sheikh that has been affected. Another favourite destination for Gulf tourists was Cairo where they usually choose hotels in its downtown area. However, the current instability has kept them away as well. Even the months of June, July and August which are considered the high season for Gulf tourism have not seen the situation improve. "Gulf tourists who came to Cairo this year did not come for entertainment or tourist purposes; they just came to follow up their businesses," Abdel-Ghaffar said. Neither does he expect an increase in the number of Gulf tourists visiting Egypt during the holy month of Ramadan. However, he anticipated that some improvement could be seen after the Fitr feast should stability and security be fully restored in Egypt. According to Omayma El-Husseini, head of public relations at the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism, the number of Gulf tourists who visited Egypt from January to June 2011 declined 15.3 per cent compared to the same period last year. However, she said, the ministry has lined up a number of promotional and branding activities to boost tourism. With the advent of the holy month of Ramadan, El-Husseini said the ministry is organising the festival of " Fawanis Ramadan " or Ramadan Lanterns, to attract Arab tourists to spend Ramadan in Egypt. The festival, which runs for the second year, was a hit last year. Moreover, the ministry had launched a media campaign promoting tourism in Egypt last May in the Gulf countries. The sharp decline in the number of Gulf tourists visiting Egypt this summer is evident in Cairo restaurants and cafés. Nabil El-Sayed, general manager of one café in Mohandessin, affirmed that there is a significant decrease in the number of Gulf tourists this summer. He said that each year, half of his café's customers were tourists from Gulf states. However, this year things are different and rarely does he see a Gulf tourist entering his café. "Egypt is still unpredictable for the Gulf tourists and they are afraid to come," he concluded. The events of the 25 January Revolution and the consequent political unrest have hit the tourism sector fiercely. Although there are indicators of recovery, the tourism sector did not go back to its previous levels and the whole number of tourists visiting Egypt in the first quarter of 2011 was below that of the same period last year by 45 per cent, with estimated losses of $1.5 billion.
