Tourism suffers yet again after the renewed unrest in Tahrir, reports Ahmed Kotb The violent clashes between protesters and security forces that left over 30 dead and almost 2,000 injured last week, was met with several cancellations to reservations made by foreign tourism companies; many tourists left the country in the last couple of days as well. "Immediate and long term cancellations were reported. More than 120 flights were cancelled during last week alone," said Nagui Erian, deputy head of the Chamber of Hotel Facilities. The situation in Cairo is the worst because of the continuous protests and violent clashes on its streets. "Hotel occupancy rates in Cairo and Giza stood at between 20 and 25 per cent until two weeks ago," Erian stated, adding that cultural tourism in the governorates of Cairo, Giza, Luxor and Aswan is suffering the most. Although there are no official calculations of the exact number of tourists who fled the country in the past days, Erian said that hotels lost at least half of their residents. Occupancy rates during the revolution, and the few months that followed, were below five per cent, and many hotels and resorts had to close down because of the huge losses. However, he said, hotels in Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurgada -- the most famous Red Sea resorts -- were faring better with occupancy rates reaching 60 per cent of their capacity in Hurghada, and 50 per cent in Sharm before the second wave of Tahrir clashes last week. Promotions on hotel rates and excursions are the trend adopted by all agencies since 25 January in order to attract tourists, and there are discounts of up to 50 per cent on accommodations until now. Hani Barakat, head of the public relations department at one of Hurghada's hotels pointed out that instability does not encourage tourists to visit Egypt. "Non-stop clashes and violent protests in Tahrir square are wreaking havoc on the tourism industry despite the fact that tourists are secured all over the country and the distance between red sea resorts and Cairo," he noted, adding that many reservations for the Christmas holidays have been cancelled. "I do not expect better conditions before the end of the parliamentary elections in March, and this means that the 2012 winter season -- the high season for tourism in Egypt -- will not be any better than the 2011 season when the revolution was at its peak," Erian said. Despite the violent clashes, there are no reported attacks on tourists and some even prefer to visit Tahrir Square on the most crowded days to see how Egyptians fight for a better future. GULF TOURIST ATTRACTIONS: Egypt continues to be a popular destination for many Gulf consumers, says a recent survey by MasterCard, the global payments and technology company. According to the survey, in Saudi Arabia, 25 per cent of those who travel are likely to head for Egypt in the coming year, followed by consumers in Qatar and Kuwait, where 20 per cent of travellers chose Egypt as a preferred destination. According to Shaun Rashid, area head, North Africa and Levant, MasterCard Worldwide, "the trend attests to the rich cultural offerings within Egypt and reflects renewed optimism about the country." On the local level, meanwhile, the survey found that 78 per cent of Egyptians are most likely to travel domestically over the coming period, while only 12 per cent are likely to travel abroad. The survey shows that, compared to last year, 53 per cent of Egyptians plan to increase or maintain their levels of leisure travel. Alexandria came top as the most popular domestic travel hub, with 60 per cent of travellers planning to go there. Other preferred destinations for domestic travel within Egypt include Aswan (10 per cent), Luxor (10 per cent), Cairo (seven per cent), Ismailia (four per cent) and Port Said (three per cent).
