Cox & Kings Australia chief executive Steve Reynolds has promised an expanded Egypt program for Tempo Holidays in August as he predicted a “strong bounce back” for the destination.
Returning from a recent visit, Reynolds said the situation there was encouraging, with an election scheduled in May.
“Provided the current political situation prevails, Egypt will certainly bounce back this year,” he told Travel Today.
Ongoing political turmoil in neighbouring countries, particularly Syria and Libya, had tarnished perceptions of the entire area.
However, Reynolds claimed Egypt was no more dangerous than the UK and urged Aussies to return.
“People don’t give a second thought about visiting London even though it recently experienced some fairly significant civil unrest,” he said.
The new brochure will include more itineraries and “modular options” with a newly extended cruise route from Cairo to Aswan.
In addition, the Egyptian tourism authority had taken advantage of the quiet period to upgrade a number of its tourism products, he reported.
“It has invested in a number of sites and infrastructure,” he said. “Even if you have been there before, I’d recommend you go there again.”
Roadshows, an agent famil and a launch promotion will mark the brochure’s release.
Meanwhile, Reynolds admitted an 80% drop in visitor numbers to Egypt over the last 12 months, but insisted that strong growth to other destinations, including Turkey, had recovered any losses.
Cox & Kings set for Egypt push
