Tag Archives: egypt

Tui claims to have outperformed the market in January

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Tui claims to have outperformed the market in January

Tui Travel claims to have “significantly outperformed” the market in the peak January selling period for summer holidays.

Sales volumes are now ahead of the company’s 9% capacity reduction, and is 35% sold to date, described as in line with the previous year.

Capacity has been cut for North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean, with some of this reduction offset by increased capacity in the Canary Islands.

“Turn of year trading has been ahead of expectations and we are particularly pleased with our online performance,” Tui said.

The average selling price is up 8%, reflecting cost base inflation of approximately 5% and the continued increase in differentiated content.

“We have continued to increase the proportion of holidays sold online with 42% booked online for summer 2012, up six percentage points versus the prior year.”

All inclusive bookings are up by seven percentage points to make up 55% of bookings to date for the first summer that First Choice becomes exclusively all inclusive.

The ‘all in’ holiday concept is proving attractive, particularly in the current economic environment.

“As we continue to expand our differentiated offering, which traditionally books earlier, these products have accounted for 64% of bookings to date, up seven percentage points on the prior year,” Tui said.

UK bookings for this winter have improved since early December, with volumes continuing to move towards a capacity reduction of 9% and there is less left to sell against this time last year.

The booked load factor is currently 71%, described as being broadly in line with last year.

“We are pleased with our price performance, with average selling prices up 5% in light of inflationary cost increases and increased differentiated sales,” Tui said.

“Demand for differentiated products continues to be strong with volumes up 15%. These products now account for 62% of our sales, up 12 percentage points on prior year.

“As anticipated, North Africa remains challenging with volumes down 23%. Across our programme strong demand in the lates booking period has resulted in improved load factors for November, December and January.”

Update: Kidnapped tourists freed in Egypt, reports say

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Update: Kidnapped tourists freed in Egypt, reports say

 
The two female U.S. tourists and their Egyptian guide who were kidnapped by armed men in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula Friday have been released, news agencies are reporting. 

The two women, ages 60 and 65, were part of a group that was returning from an excursion to St. Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai when the abduction took place, a police chief told CBS and the Associated Press.

There were three other people aboard the tour bus who were left behind by the gunmen, who reportedly headed into nearby mountains in a pair of vehicles. The two women were among a party of five returning from the monastery to the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Egypt tourism ponders effect of Muslim Brotherhood’s ascent

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Egypt tourism ponders effect of Muslim Brotherhood’s ascent

By Michelle Baran

KarnakEgyptOpsThe Muslim Brotherhood’s significant gains in the final phase of Egypt’s parliamentary elections this week left many in the industry anxious about how the group’s sectarian impulses would affect the country’s social mores and, as a result, its allure as a tourism destination.

Last month, news reports surfaced of a Muslim Brotherhood candidate’s vision for tourism in which tourists would not be allowed to drink alcohol or wear bikinis.

While it was an offhand remark, the comments brought to light questions about how tourism policy might be altered by a sectarian government in a country that will rely heavily on travel and tourism to push economic recovery following debilitating setbacks in 2011.

“The tourism industry in Egypt, directly and indirectly, is responsible for one in eight jobs,” said Amr Badr, managing director of Egypt and the Middle East for Abercrombie & Kent.

“It is easy for candidates to make these statements on a theoretical basis, but if there are attempts to change legislation and regulations, they will certainly be met with resistance, as such suggestions are simply not realistic for a country in which tourism is such a fundamental pillar of the economy.”

Egypt’s tourist industry took a major hit in 2011 in the wake of the at-times violent and deadly revolution that began Jan. 25, which resulted in the ouster of longtime president Hosni Mubarak.

The country welcomed about 54% fewer U.S. tourists last year than in 2010, Mohamed Hegazy, acting director of the Egyptian Tourist Authority in New York, said in a phone interview from Cairo last week.

Hegazy pointed to nearby Turkey as an example of a Muslim country that is able to maintain a successful tourism industry.

Asked if the likely dominance of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party in Egypt’s newly forming government would have an impact on tourism, Hegazy responded, “I don’t think so, because business is business, and the economy is the economy. Tourism is one of the main factors in the Egypt economy. It represents 11.5% of the Egyptian income. So, I don’t think so.”

Meanwhile, Egypt’s once-thriving tourism industry is attempting to rebuild itself in 2012. But the ongoing political uncertainty as Egyptians head to the polls to elect a new government — a process that will last at least into June, when the presidential elections are slated to take place — continues to make the destination a difficult sell for some.

“Interest in travel to Egypt continues to be disappointing with the backdrop of news in the media,” said Jerre Fuqua, president of Travcoa. “However, travelers returning from Egypt report high regard for the destination and their feelings of safety.”

Abercrombie & Kent, meanwhile, is starting to see a return to pre-2011 booking patterns.

“Last week, Abercrombie & Kent passenger numbers for 2012 exceeded the forward bookings we had at this time last year for travel in 2011,” said Pamela Lassers, director of media relations for Abercrombie & Kent USA. “We are continuing to add guaranteed small-group escorted departures to accommodate the growing interest in travel to Egypt.”