Number of Russian tourists visiting Egyptian resorts remains unchanged y-o-y

The number of Russian tourists who visited Egyptian resorts in 2019 remained stable y-o-y at 120k, Association of Russian Tour Operators (EC) President Maya Lomidze said at a presser, according to Sputnik Arabic. Lomidze noted that the ban on direct flights from Russia to Egypt’s Red Sea resorts means that tourists essentially come in through the back door by flying in from other countries. A delegation of Russian officials visited Egypt last month to look into resuming flights from Moscow to Egypt’s Red Sea resorts again since they were banned in October 2015. Russia has been cagey for over four years about restoring charter flights to Egypt.