Egyptian tour guides for Japanese tourists expressed their dissatisfaction at EgyptAir's cancellation of direct flights between Tokyo and Cairo. Egyptian and Japanese tourism companies began marketing trips for fall 2011 after EgyptAir announced that the route between Tokyo and Cairo would resume on Nov. 19. Tour guides said that the cancellation threatens the future of 2,000 tour guides, their families, and the future of tourism in Egypt, considering that Japanese tourists are important for the Egyptian tourism market. The cancellation is considered a catastrophe, and a burden on workers in the tourism sector, said tour guide Mohamed Hatem. "Such calls make tour guides organize protests and sit-ins to have their demands met,” he added.