The political crisis in the Middle East over the last few years has severely impacted on the tourism industry throughout the region but does this mean that tourists should stay away? Following my visit to Egypt last November I’ve spoken to a number of people about how tourism has been affected and whether it is still safe to travel in there.
The local guide…
While in Egypt I had the opportunity to chat to one of the guides working in the area over a coffee. He expressed how worried he was about tourists not coming because of the recent problems but he could see no reason for the tourists to stay away.
The tourist…
I certainly had no second thoughts about visiting Egypt, yet while I was there, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in protest to President Morsi’s decree giving him sweeping powers which cannot be revoked by any authority, including the judiciary. Morsi’s opponents called his action a betrayal of the spirit of the 2011 revolution. The protests in Cairo resulted in violent clashes between the protestors and the police. Meanwhile, I was on the coast by the Red Sea, completely unaware of what was happening until I got back home to England.
Life and the tourism industry in Sharm el Sheik and all along that coastal strip carried on as normal and still does now.
The tour operator…
Scott Anderson, general manager of The Luxury Cruise Company, when asked last week expressed the following.
“The locals really do depend heavily on tourism for their living-especially in the popular tourist areas of Luxor, Aswan, Cairo and at the tombs and temples along the banks of the Nile. Egyptologists, tour guides, hotel workers, handicraft producers and more all rely on tourist trade. There has been a 32% drop in tourism since the Arab Spring uprising, with revenue from tourism dropping by £2.5bn .
The troubles have affected the tourism and river cruise industry a lot, with a lot of tourists staying away. However, we have recently had clients who have ventured to Egypt who have returned singing its praises. The temples and tombs are un crowded, the people so welcoming and grateful to see tourists and our clients have returned having had a wonderful time. It’s wise to stay away from potential hot-spots, however Luxor and Aswan, Abu Simbel, Lake Nasser and Nile cruises are all safe. Our ground agents in Egypt are with our clients from start to finish, and are looked after all the way.”
The journalist…
Matthew Teller, a freelance travel journalist and a regular reporter for the UK national press, is known for his knowledge on the Middle East, so when I had the chance of a chat with him last weekend, I asked how safe he thought it was to travel to Egypt.
He agreed that the resorts along Red Sea including Sharm el Sheikh are relatively isolated from anything that may or may not happen elsewhere in the country but the rest of the Sinai peninsula is not a place to travel. He said demonstrations are happening all over the country and just a few days ago all the trains south of Cairo were cancelled because of protests on the line. Whether this was just for a day or two or ongoing he couldn’t say; he was uncertain of what the situation is now in southern Egypt and upper Egypt.
Matthew had read that hotel occupancy in Luxor and Aswan were as low as 5% which really is quite a desperate situation for everyone involved in tourism there. “The whole economy in Luxor is geared around tourism. There’s probably very few people in Luxor who aren’t connected in some way or other with tourism business.” Even in Sharm el Sheik hotel occupancy is only 50%.
The UK foreign office…
The Foreign Office website advises against ALL travel in North Sinai and against all but essential travel in South Sinai, except the coastal strip along the Red Sea that includes Sharm el Sheikh.
With regards to the vast majority of Egypt (and the coastal strip mentioned above) they refer you to more detailed travel advice which should be read before travelling to the area and is updated as necessary. While they currently do not advise against travel to Egypt in general, there is some very important information here.
The Egyptian Tourism Authority…
To date The Egyptian Tourism Authority has not replied to my inquiry but I will update this post should I receive a response. (Of course, it is quite possible that my email is sitting in their spam folder!)
Have you travelled to Egypt recently? Would you travel there now?
I am sure, like me, you wish to see an end to the violence and the tourists return so that people, all across the Middle East who rely on tourism, have the chance to make a living again. However, there is a historic change happening in the region that will not be resolved quickly. Matthew Teller, who I met at Destinations Holiday and Travel Show in London, is passionate about his belief that this is an opportunity to reshape tourism in the region in a more sustainable manner; one where private enterprise can flourish. Both his talk at the show ‘Jordan and its neighbours: reshaping Middle East tourism’ and my conversation with him earlier in the day were fascinating and I will share that with you in a future post.
Update from Matthew Teller, May 2013
Matthew has recently returned from Egypt and has written an interesting article about safety in Egypt and yes, he is certain it is safe to travel there with a few sensible precautions including avoiding Tahrir Square. If you are thinking of travelling to Egypt please to read it. He shares some great advice.
Photograph by Neill Bristow
Related articles
Egyptian tourism sector ravaged by political unrest by Karim Hafez and Dalia Farouq on Ahram Online
(Matthew’s Teller’s source regarding hotel occupancy)
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I’ve used to organize private guided tours in Egypt. And yeah, I agree with the guide when he said I see no reasons for tourists not to come to Egypt. I see this post has been published so long ago, but I just wanted to thank you for your efforts and support. Awesome Read Kat!
Thank you, Ahmed. It’s my pleasure. I do hope I get the chance to return before too long. Such a fascinating country.
Hi, Thanks for sharing this post
It is no secret that Egypt has recently been quite unstable. Several countries, including the United States of America and Russia, have quite strongly recommended their citizens against traveling to Egypt. This is greatly due to the fact that this political instability has brought with it a storm of unwanted violence and riots.
And many families don’t consider Egypt for visiting and sightseeing because of its security issues. There were rarely any major security issues regarding Egypt coming on the front page of a newspaper until the incident of 9/11. And for extra security, make sure you’ve signed with a travel agency.
Thanks for the very informative article espcially the part of the economic impact of lack of tourists. Speaking of Safety which is one of the most important concerns of any tourist.
In Cairo, I feel now safer than the past 3 years. Since the new president and new government appointed.
Thank you, Ahmed, for reading my article. I wrote it a little while ago now so it is great to have an update from and wonderful to hear that things have improved.
Thank you for sharing this. We have been looking at vacation with http://isram.com/isram/category/egypt/ and would love to go. However, safety is a huge concern. Thank you for the great information.
Very well written article. I like the focused paragraphs from different perspectives.
On my website, I have the chance to talk to actual tour guides from around the world, and the ones from Egypt clearly highlighted that there is a significant decrease in the number of tourists. This has a clear and direct impact on their activity, but moreover it is actually impacting the whole economy in this beautiful country. Simply because the security questions, and the current ‘bad security reputation’ of this magnificent destination is also relayed by business men who are reluctant in investing in Egypt.
What I want to say is that your articles reaches far beyond the tourism sector and it is actually felt in all sectors.
HI Tarek ,
The lack of tourists must have a wide ranging impact on the whole economy.
Another travel blogger I know is about to travel there herself and I’ll be following her journey closely. I’ll add links to any interesting posts she writes as updates on this page. I get many visitors here everyday who are obviously considering holidays to Egypt so I’m sure they would appreciate up-to-date information from a fellow traveller.
Very interesting and informative
What a nicely written article! As a (female) journalist myself I wouldn’t dare to go to Egypt yet. It definitely a place I one day want to visit though. Let’s hope that the tourism over there will be back on his feet soon.
The Beauty Suitcase
Thanks Elise.
While I can understand that as a woman you wouldn’t want to visit Cairo following recent events, personally I can see no reason to avoid many other areas, such as the Red Sea resorts. It is so sad that events in Cairo spoil the image of the whole country.
Elise
as a journalist (I am female and a journalist also) it is actually MORE important you visit. We need journalists as well as bloggers to get the message out that it is safe. 99% of Cairo is safe. Parts of New York or any big city are far less safe.
Look at some Egyptian magazines for women that are online such as Magnificent, What Women Want, and also the many women on Twitter who will tell you that it is safe.
I have to be honest and say that there ARE issues of sexual harassment here, not only for foreigners but Egyptian women, and women (and many men) are standing up against that now, so it will change. But you can also suffer sexual harassment in any country – I experienced it in Germany and my birth country Australia. Unfortunately it is part of being female and we must fight it constantly and change the way many men think.
But as to safety from the ongoing Revolution, again I say that there are many more dangerous places in Europe, USA and anywhere than being in Cairo.
Susan http://siwasoul.wordpress.com
Hi Susan,
I couldn’t agree with you more. I’m afraid that part of the problem is the familiar phrase ‘bad news sells’. That certainly applies to much of the news reports we are fed in the UK.
Thanks for telling us about these magazines. I’ll will certainly be checking them out.
And thanks too for both your comments. This is exactly the feedback I was hoping for.
Very good question. Just a few days, I was wondering if it was safe to go to Egypt and if yes can I bag a good deal considering what’s going on there at the moment. Its a great country and has a lot to offer, hope democracy will be restored and it will again be safe for tourists.
Hi Kate,
Firstly, congratulations on your Blog – great stuff.
Secondly, we at Nomadic Thoughts (www.nomadicthoughts.com) are very much promoting Egypt at present.
Whilst full appreciating the change in political landscape, as a tourist destination I believe it is one of the best times to go … the lack of busy crowds in the main sites means that visitors have an excellent opportunity to experience the major Egyptology sites away from the previous travelling hoards.
the Upper Nile in particular is superb at present.
I highlighted this in a recent blog I posted a few months ago:
http://www.jonovernon-powell.com/egypt-upper-nile-here-now-07-11-12/
Thank you and thanks for the great comment. It does sound a good time to enjoy the sites without the crowds which can be quite ridiculous. I remember queuing for ages to get in to see the tombs at Valley of the Kings. Fascinating though. Would love to go back there.
I live in Nuweiba, South Sinai, and travel throughout Egypt. I have lived in Egypt since just before the Revolution and traveled here for 20 years. Parts of major international cities such as New York or even my old city Sydney, Australia, can be more dangerous than 99% of Egypt. Do NOT let travel warnings by governments put you off coming here and experiencing this wonderful place and people. http://www.facebook.com/MindseyeWritingAndPhotography
Hi Susan, really appreciate your comment. It is wonderful to hear from someone actually there. When I visited in November I had a superb time and would love to go back again soon.
Against all advice, we visited Egypt right after the Luxor massacre, and found everybody so welcoming, friendly and pleased to see us. And, we got things like upgrades and free stuff on both our Nile and Lake Nasser cruises.
The massacre in 1997 was truly shocking but thankfully a one off event. Never-the-less, I admire you for still going, but so I would expect from the ‘Travelrat’ 🙂 Sounds like you had a fantastic time.
It is such a sad state of affairs! The unrest will keep the tourists away which in turn leads to more financial crisis. More financial crisis leads to an increase in crime, including crime against tourists which in turn keeps the tourists away! Such a terrible spiral! I would love to travel to Egypt, but with so many places on my bucket list, I guess I am waiting for more stability!
Great post Kat – really gives food for thought!
I believe there has been a small increase in crime. So sad as you say. Very glad to hear you found the post interesting though.