Tourism Returns to Egypt both Cruise and River

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The Egyptian revolution in January poised several challenges for the travel industry – evacuating tourists, accommodating media, protecting hotel property from protesters – but it also created some interesting byproducts.

In a land where history stretches practically to the dawn of time, the events created new historical sites for tourists.

“In Egypt, they’re going to want to see the places where things happened,” said Ali Velshi, CNN Chief Business Correspondent, at a recent Africa Travel Association forum in New York. “They’re going to want to see Tahrir Square.”

The industry already is capitalizing on the events. Regent Seven Seas Cruises is marketing a 20-day cruise for next May in which Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR) personalities will discuss the political uprisings. The ship will travel to ports in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Israel and the Mediterranean.

“Whatever happened in Egypt recently turned out to be a huge PR campaign for Egypt,” said Mohamed Hegazy, Tourism Attaché USA & Latin America at Egyptian Tourist Authority. “[It took] all the eyes to Egypt and Cairo as the capital to see the new version of Egypt that added to our civilization and history.”

“We are back now, gradually,” he said. “What happened on the ground – did we recover or not – we’re projecting that we’ve already recovered.”

He reported that there were 100,000 U.S. travelers to Egypt first half of 2011 despite the evacuation and travel advisories. Tourists started coming back in April and May, he said, and most of international flights now are operating regularly. Sightseeing is open and secure, and while Hegazy noted that demonstrations continue to occur in downtown Cairo, they are announced in advance.