Egypt's tourism continues to be hit hard from ongoing anti-government protests that began on January 25. According to travel operator Thomas Cook, it is expected to lose some $32 million as a result of cancellations in Tunisia and Egypt. It comes after rival operator Tui announced last week it was planning to lose nearly $50 million. Manny Fontenla-Novoa, chief executive, said he expected that most of the lost revenue would be mitigated in the course of the year. He told the Financial Times that unrest in Egypt had barely affected the vast majority of the company's customers in the Red Sea resorts of Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada. “If it wasn't for the TV coverage, they wouldn't know there was any problem in Egypt,” he said in a conference call. In an interim management statement, the group reported revenues up 9 per cent in its first quarter after allowing for currency fluctuations, with an operating loss removing exceptional items of $52 million, reduced by 10 percent on the same quarter last year, from revenues of $2.24bn. Fontenla-Novoa said he was hoping life would soon return to normal in Egypt, as it quickly was in Tunisia. The two destinations represent about 10 per cent of Thomas Cook's package holiday business and 7 per cent of total bookings. The emergency evacuation of 5,000 holidaymakers from Tunisia cost the group some $8 million to $10 million, but there had been no need for similar measures in Egypt, he added. The losses would be mitigated by cost savings and by increased bookings in other areas, such as the Balearic Islands, where business was up 30 percent, and Greece, up 20 percent. BM
