Travel agents and operator see surge of interest in Egypt

Tourism to Egypt is growing amid an upswing of interest in the destination from US and European travelers, reports Skift, arguably the most influential publication in the global travel industry. Relative calm in Egypt after a period of unrest and word-of-mouth has dispelled fears and encouraged tourists, especially Baby Boomers, to visit Egypt, Skift notes. Tour operators have seen steadily growing demand, with luxury outfit Alexander + Roberts seeing a fivefold increase in departures for Egypt and Abercrombie and Kent adding 34 departure dates to its flagship group journey Egypt & the Nile. Big European tour operators also saw a 40% uptick in demand for Egypt during the first nine months of 2018. Egypt bookings also had a 264% increase during the past year, according to travel agency Virtuoso, second only to Turkey’s 310 percent increase. Egypt’s travel momentum is expected to continue into 2019, barring any … uhm … exogenous shocks.