The Ministry of Tourism plans to increase its pubic relations campaign abroad with major international tour operators, which launch trips to Egypt, according to the Tourism Activation Authority (TAA) Head Sami Mahmoud. The Ministry of Tourism formed a crisis committee to follow up the Russian plane crisis and its effects on the tourism flows to Egypt, Mahmoud told Daily News Egypt. The committee is composed of representatives from the private sector, JWT Company, and TAA. The committee decided to postpone the promotional campaign temporarily until Russia lifts its flights' suspension to Egypt. "The committee agreed on several scenarios regarding Arab and domestic tourism to avoid the negative effects of European flights suspension to Egypt," Mahmoud said. "Agreements were made to launch promotional campaigns for Arab and domestic tourism during November". The Tourism Ministry plans on launching a promotional campaign in the Arabian Gulf countries this month to increase tourist flows coming to Egypt, particularly to Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh. The ministry had already recently launched the "Egypt is Close" campaign to target the increase of the flow of Arab tourism. Over the first eight months of 2015, the flow increased by 18%. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin adopted a decision to suspend commercial flights to Egypt until the plane's crash circumstances are revealed. The decision led to an evacuation of Russian tourists from Sharm El-Sheikh. Mahmoud said the Ministry of Tourism will maintain its contract with JWT, the company that will lead the promotional campaigns and identify the advertisements areas in the foreign media. Over the past three days, 15,000 Russian tourists were transferred back to their country, according to tourism sources in South Sinai and that the transfer process for these numbers may take around one month to complete. On Monday, the occupancy rates in Sharm El-Sheikh Hotels ranged between 30% and 35% and around 55% and 60% in Marsa Allam, according to the sources. "Interviews are taking place with the major British tour operators and there is a great interest in Russian plane accident and the cause of the crash," a member of the Chamber of Hotels Nagy Al-Eryan said in a telephone call from London. Occupancies in coastal regions on the Red Sea are decreasing in light of tourists leaving to their countries due to the issued warnings. As for the Head of the Investors Association in Marsa Allam Adel Abdel Rady, he said occupancy in the area's hotels ranges between 40% and 50% although Russian and British tourists departed hotels in light of the recent warnings and flights suspension. Source: Daily News Egypt
