Hotels and tourist resorts on the Red Sea have announced mid-year holiday discounts to attract more Egyptians for domestic tourism and leisure.
Mahmoud Arafa, director of contracts for a tourism company in Hurghada, said that the discount rate for domestic tourism is between 15 and 25 percent.
Booking prices start from 1,200 lei for a double room with complex accommodation, children under 12 years old – free of charge.
This is being done in an attempt to offset the decline in foreign tourism from Europe and Russia, amid precautionary measures to protect guests and workers from the coronavirus.
Hurghada tourism sector workers urged Egyptians to spend their holidays in hotels and tourist villages in Hurghada to attract domestic tourism, as part of a plan to promote and support the sector.
The head of the Tourism Syndicate, Basem Halaka, said late last month that hotel occupancy is expected to rise to 100 percent in the coming days due to the start of the holiday season and the success of the tourism sector in implementing precautionary measures at the highest level.
Mid-year holidays are revitalizing domestic tourism and boosting hotel occupancy rates, especially in the areas of Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada, Luxor and Aswan, Halaka added in an exclusive statement to Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper.
In 2020, Egypt’s tourism sector lost up to $7.7 billion due to the pandemic. As the backbone of the Egyptian economy, this industry provides a large percentage of the country’s GDP and employs more than three million Egyptians.
Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the tourism industry has been hit hard. Several countries have closed their borders and banned travel to contain the spread of the disease.