As every year, Egypt is preparing to welcome tourists from all over the world to many of its resorts, known for warm weather and charming nature throughout the year, especially in winter.
Despite the dire circumstances of the pandemic, Egypt has played a trump card by resuming international flights last year after several years of suspension during the pandemic and welcoming Russian and British tourists to Red Sea resorts after a long hiatus.
Russian and British tourists rank first among visitors to Egypt, with more than 3 million Russian tourists in 2014 alone, accounting for over 30 percent of all tourists that year.
This came before a significant decline in 2015 following the regrettable crash of a Russian plane over Sinai.
On all levels, this disaster has caused deep sorrow, and therefore Egypt is committed to ensuring that such incidents never happen again.
Over the past years, Russian delegations have inspected airports in Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada to check the measures Egypt is taking to ensure the safety of tourists.
In particular, they talked about the biometric equipment installed in Egyptian airports and the recordings of CCTV cameras, as well as equipment for the inspection of baggage.
After several years of work, Egypt was able to receive Russian tourists in Cairo in 2018, and to the Egyptian resorts of the Red Sea – only in August last year.
In addition, in February last year, Sharm el Sheikh in the South Sinai took over the first British charter flight since the 2015 incident.
Another obstacle in the way
Like most countries, Egypt was forced to suspend international flights due to the pandemic, but was able to resume them a few months later amid strict preventive measures.
Egypt was able to vaccinate all workers in the tourism industry in the Red Sea resorts, and also introduced the first dose of vaccine to tourism workers in the cities of Upper Egypt – Luxor and Aswan.
Egypt continues to adhere to strict measures. However, he allowed hotels to operate at full capacity, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing a tourism industry official.
Many inspection tours conducted by officials such as ministers of tourism and civil aviation include airports and tourist attractions to ensure that disinfection and preventive measures are being followed.
The connection between Luxor and Sharm El Sheikh
On Wednesday morning, EgyptAir Flight MS 202 departed from Sharm El Sheikh International Airport, bound for Luxor International Airport, for the first time since a six-year hiatus.
EgyptAir will continue to operate flights once a week, with the possibility of increasing depending on demand, at a single round-trip ticket price, including taxes, in the amount of 1800 lei.
This is due to the fact that Egypt seeks to provide a comprehensive tourism experience by integrating cultural and recreational tourism so that tourists can visit more than one travel destination while in Egypt.
It links the cities of the Nile Valley to coastal tourist cities through domestic flights.
The plane took off at 7 a.m. from Sharm El Sheikh International Airport, which had 110 foreigners and Egyptians on board, to visit the museums and archaeological sites of Luxor and enjoy its enchanting atmosphere.
The new flight was announced during a meeting between Tourism Minister Khaled El-Enani and Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Manar earlier this month.
This line has been operating for the first time since December 2015. It was organized at the request of the private tourism sector, the Egyptian Tourism Federation and the Egyptian Travel Agents Association.