Tourism in Egypt took a serious turn for the worst after the downing of a Russian passenger jet over Sinai on 31 October. Russians, Germans, and British tourists stopped coming to Egypt – especially to the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh – and large numbers of citizens from Central and Eastern Europe as well. When a Serbian citizen, who preferred to remain anonymous, was asked if she would feel safe visiting Egypt after the Russian plane crash, she answered "Egypt sounds scary to me somehow, because of all sorts of incidents, and not only because of this plane crash".
As for Estonian visitors to Egypt, tour operators in Estonia are still providing packages to Hurghada. Estonians are still flying to Hurghada, although trips to Sharm El-Sheikh have stopped. Unfortunately, the many Estonians in Sharm El-Sheikh before the Russian airplane crash left after this incident. Estonian ambassador to Egypt Sandre Soone explains the reduction in numbers of Estonian tourists quite simply: "There used to be two destinations, Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh, but currently there is only one". "It is still too early to predict the situation. We have to wait to evaluate and estimate the number of Estonian tourism to Egypt this year," he said.
In this regard, it is worth considering the nature of Estonian tourism to Egypt. As with many Central and Eastern European countries, including Hungary and Serbia, Estonian visitors usually head mainly to the Red Sea, particularly the two well-known locations of Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh.
In 2010, as Soone told Daily News Egypt, more than 60,000 Estonians visited Egypt. Estonian tourism agencies hired charter flights and there were direct charter flights, which were regular and weekly, from Estonia to Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh. Now, for the time being at least, Sharm El-Sheikh is excluded.
Unfortunately since the 25 January Revolution in 2011, the number of Estonian tourists has been in decline with just 20,000 visitors in 2014. However, Soone believes that 20,000 is a big number for such a small country, an indication of the popularity of Egypt with Estonians.
The Estonian tourism industry suffered its own problems in recent years. The political issues and fighting in Ukraine have led to a reduction in Russian visitors to Estonia. However, Soone said that numbers are creeping back up again, presumably in response to the perception that tensions over Ukraine had receded.
When asked whether Russians were now opting for Estonia over Egypt perhaps in response to the Sinai air-crash, the ambassador said: "Estonia was always a very popular destination for Russians. It faced a decline but now it is starting to regain its previous status".
As for resuming Estonian tourism to Sharm El-Sheikh, it seems the resort town will have to wait for the outcome of investigations into security arrangements. Several countries have sent teams to investigate the security situation in Egypt's airports, particularly in Sharm El-Sheikh. According to Soone, Estonian authorities will be weighing up information provided by foreign experts and the Egyptian authorities before advising its citizens that it really is safe to fly to Sharm El-Sheikh.
"When the other countries state that it is safe to travel to Sharm El-Sheikh, Estonia will do so as well," he said.
